Time Was

Joe Williamson has ridden Time Was fifteen times without a win between them, a frustrating run that reflects the horse's broader struggles. Trained by Philip Kirby at East Appleton in North Yorkshire, Time Was competes almost entirely at the lowest competitive level, Class 5 racing, where it has managed places but no victories across sixteen attempts. The yard itself is thriving this season with thirty-six winners to its name, which makes Time Was's blank record stand out as genuinely unusual — Kirby does not typically send out horses that cannot break through. That Time Was remains active, racing just yesterday, suggests the horse still has an owner willing to keep it in work and a trainer who believes there might yet be a race to win somewhere. But after nine years and twenty-three attempts, Time Was represents the racing reality that not every horse, no matter how genuine its effort, finds that elusive moment in the sun.