What stops this from being a simple story of a slow horse is the placing record. Six times in 26 races — roughly once every four outings — Whatswrongnow has finished in the frame without actually winning. That is the maddening thing. It is not finishing last. It is finishing close enough to matter, close enough to suggest the win is somewhere just around the corner, and then not delivering it. The recent form makes this especially pointed: in the last six races, five of those results have been placings or near-placings, including three second-place finishes. Second. Twice. Recently. The horse clearly knows where the winning post is. It just seems to arrive there a stride or two after someone else.
Jockey Rory Mulligan has partnered Whatswrongnow nine times and is still waiting for that first win together — 0 from 9 is a tough run for any combination, but given the horse's overall record, it is hard to lay the blame at his door. They are, in a sense, in it together.
The name, of course, is the thing. Someone in that yard had a sense of humour, or perhaps a gift for prophecy. Whatever the question was when this horse was named, the answer has consistently been: still no win. But 26 races is a long career of trying, and a horse that finished second twice in its last six outings is not done yet. Racing has a way of eventually rewarding persistence — or at least, that is what everyone involved in Whatswrongnow is presumably telling themselves.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dundalk Galloping |
7 | 1 second, 6 other | 7 Nov | 0% |
| Navan Galloping |
5 | 1 second, 1 third, 3 other | 16 May | 0% |
| Cork Galloping |
3 | 1 second, 1 third, 1 other | 19 May | 0% |
| Naas Galloping |
3 | 3 other | 9 May | 0% |
| Bellewstown Sharp |
3 | 3 other | 2 Oct | 0% |
| Fairyhouse Galloping |
2 | 1 second, 1 other | 28 May | 0% |
| Laytown Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 4 Sep | 0% |
| Sligo Sharp |
1 | 1 other | 4 May | 0% |
| Tipperary Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 8 Aug | 0% |