The numbers are blunt. Tariff has yet to finish in the top three in any of its five races, and its most recent run came just yesterday, so this is very much a horse in the thick of its learning curve. At two years old, that is not unusual — young horses are often still figuring out what racing actually asks of them — but there is no way to dress up a sequence of finishes like that as anything other than disappointing.
What works in Tariff's favour is the yard behind it. Trainer Adrian McGuinness, based at Lusk in County Dublin, has sent out 45 winners already this season — that is a genuinely productive operation, the kind of stable that knows how to get horses ready to perform. When a trainer is winning at that volume, it suggests Tariff's time may simply not have come yet, rather than the horse being without ability altogether. McGuinness will have seen plenty of slow burners improve with time and experience.
For now, Tariff is a project in progress. The question is whether race six brings a different story.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dundalk Galloping |
4 | 4 other | 17 Dec | 0% |
| Bellewstown Sharp |
1 | 1 other | 3 Jul | 0% |