Struth

Across 32 races in total, Struth has won twice and finished in the places nine times — a win rate of around 1 in every 16 races, or just 6%. That is a modest return, and the recent run of form makes for uncomfortable reading. The last six races have produced finishes of 10th, 5th, 5th, 6th, 6th, and 6th — no win, no place, and a worrying consistency in finishing mid-pack rather than threatening the front. The most recent race was just yesterday, so this is a horse that is very much still active, though clearly not firing at its best.

The last win came at Chester in May 2023 — now 39 months ago. Chester is one of the most unusual tracks in Britain, a tight, almost circular course where race tactics matter enormously, and where horses that know the track can steal a march on rivals who do not. Whether Struth simply suited that day's conditions or had a genuine affinity for the place is hard to say from the record alone, but the win there was the high point of a career that has otherwise been defined by near-misses and solid but unremarkable efforts.

Joe Fanning, who has ridden Struth five times, has one win from those five rides — a rate of 1 in 5, or 20%, which is well above the horse's overall average. That single collaboration produced the Chester win, which suggests there may be something to that partnership worth noting.

Struth is trained by Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore out of their yard in Milnathort, and the team has been in strong form this season with 49 winners. The horse itself, however, has not contributed to that tally for over three years. At six years old and without a win since 2023, the question is whether another day like Chester is still waiting — or whether that afternoon on the banks of the Dee was simply as good as it gets.