The Dabbler

The most recent win came at Sligo back in June 2024 — now 24 months ago — and since then The Dabbler has gone six races without finding the winner's enclosure again. The last six runs read 12th, 9th, 3rd, and three blanks after that, which suggests a horse that has a bit left to give on its best day, but those days are becoming harder to find. A third-place finish in that sequence is a flicker of form worth noting, but the overall direction of travel is hard to ignore at this stage of a career.

Liam P Cusack trains the horse out of Mountrath in County Laois, and the yard has sent out three winners this season — a modest but active campaign. Regular rider Mr P W Gleeson has been in the saddle for six of The Dabbler's races together without a win to show for it, though that's as much a reflection of where the horse currently is as anything else. Raced just one day ago, The Dabbler is still very much in the mix and being kept busy, which at 13 is a story in itself. Most horses this age have long since been retired. The fact it's still lining up is a small kind of testament to durability, even if the winners have dried up.