Takarengo

That single win came at The Curragh in July 2022, now 45 months ago. The Curragh is Ireland's most prestigious flat racing venue, so winning there at all is no small thing, even if it remains the only time Takarengo has reached the winner's enclosure. At distances between a mile and six furlongs and two miles — the longer end of the spectrum, where stamina matters as much as speed — the record reads 1 win from 14 races, a 7% win rate. That's where this horse is most at home, and most dangerous in a placing sense.

The recent form makes for sobering reading: sixth, sixth, eighth, third, a no-result, and eleventh in the last six runs, with no win in that entire sequence. Racing just one day ago, Takarengo is clearly still active and still being aimed at races, which reflects a certain stubbornness from James M Barcoe's yard in Gowran, Co. Kilkenny — a training operation that has sent out 7 winners already this season, so they know what a winning horse looks like.

Danny Mullins has ridden Takarengo nine times without getting a win, a partnership that has plenty of experience behind it but no reward in the winner's column so far. That's not necessarily a criticism of either horse or jockey — sometimes a combination just hasn't clicked on the right day.

At 10 years old, with one career win and the clock ticking, Takarengo is the kind of horse that keeps trainers and owners honest. The places keep coming, the effort is clearly there, but that second visit to the winner's enclosure has been a long time arriving. Whether it ever does is the question that keeps this horse interesting.