Take Chance

Anna McGuinness has been the regular partner in the saddle, riding Take Chance in half of those 12 races without managing to convert any into a win. The pair have been consistent companions, though consistent success has eluded them both. Looking at the last six runs, the horse has been finishing mid-pack — a fifth, a third, and a fourth among the recorded positions — which suggests it is competing without ever quite finding that extra gear when it matters most. The third-place finish is the highlight, a reminder that Take Chance can get into the race, just not to the front of it.

What gives this story some texture is who is doing the training. John C McConnell's yard in Stamullen, Co Meath, has sent out 42 winners this season — a genuinely productive operation. Being trained by someone who clearly knows how to get horses winning makes Take Chance's blank scorecard a little puzzling. The talent and the infrastructure are there around it. The horse raced just one day ago, so it is very much still an active part of the yard's string, and McConnell is not the type to keep a horse running without a plan. Sometimes it just takes the right day, the right race, and the right moment — and for Take Chance, that day has not arrived yet.