The Strikin Viking

Since that day at York, The Strikin Viking has gone six races without winning, with recent finishes of 9th, 7th, 13th, 3rd, 10th, and 6th telling a story of a horse that can occasionally flash some promise — that third place is encouraging — but cannot quite find the front. The challenge is significant: this horse is typically entered in Class 1 races, the very top tier of British racing, and has not managed a single win from four attempts at that level. That is not a disgrace — these are the best races in the country — but it does mean The Strikin Viking is consistently being asked to beat some very good horses.

Jockey James Doyle has been the regular partner, riding the horse five times without a win between them. That is not necessarily a reflection on either horse or jockey — plenty of talented combinations go through lean spells — but it is a number worth noting. Hamad Al Jehani trains the horse from a Newmarket yard that has sent out 18 winners this season, so the operation clearly knows how to get horses to the line first. The Strikin Viking, so far, just hasn't been one of them.

What keeps things interesting is the horse raced as recently as yesterday and is clearly still being campaigned actively. Al Jehani's team have not given up on finding another winning opportunity, and at four years old there is no reason to think the best days are necessarily behind it. York clearly suits — that is where the only win came — and if the team can find the right race at the right moment, that second victory might not be as far away as the recent form suggests.