Va Va Vroom

That one win came at Leopardstown in July 2024, and it has remained her only victory in the 23 months since. Her recent form makes for difficult reading — in her last six races she has finished 8th, 10th, 5th, 12th, then failed to finish, then finished 16th — which is the kind of sequence that tests a trainer's patience. But Cromwell has been candid about why. A trip to France for a Group 2 race at Deauville last August went wrong when heavy overnight rain turned the ground soft and muddy — exactly the kind of surface she struggles on. Cromwell's description is telling: she likes to hear her hooves rattle, meaning she wants fast, dry ground underfoot. Get that wrong and you are not seeing the real horse. A subsequent run in a Listed race at Dundalk — a top-level contest — ended in frustration too, with her getting blocked in traffic and finishing strongly once the gaps finally came, which at least suggested the ability was still there.

She is most effective over seven furlongs to a mile, where she has won 1 from 6 races — roughly 1 in 6 at her best trip. Shane Foley has been her most regular partner, riding her in 5 of those races and winning once together, a win rate of 20%, or 1 in 5 — comfortably her best combination. She raced just yesterday, so she is firmly in training and being kept busy.

What keeps the interest alive is what Cromwell has said about her current state. Her work at home is only now starting to come together, and she is waiting on warmer, drier weather to unlock what she can do. For a horse who clearly needs the ground fast, that is a reasonable hope rather than an excuse. She is not a horse who has run out of ability — she is one still waiting for the right day.