Whiskey Serenade

The recent form tells a mixed story. A second-place finish sits at one end of the last six runs, which is encouraging, but there are also finishes of 16th and 9th in there — races where Whiskey Serenade simply never got into it. That's the profile of a horse that can produce on its day but hasn't yet found the right combination of circumstances to string things together. Jockey Keith Donoghue has been in the saddle for six of those races and is still looking for that first win alongside the horse, which suggests this isn't simply a matter of finding the right rider.

What Whiskey Serenade does have going for it is a trainer worth believing in. Gavin Cromwell operates out of Navan in County Meath and has sent out 96 winners already this season — that's a yard firing on all cylinders. Cromwell is not the sort of trainer who keeps a horse in training without a plan, so the fact that Whiskey Serenade raced just yesterday and remains active suggests the team still sees something worth chasing. Sometimes it takes a horse longer than expected to find its moment. With the right day and the right conditions, that first win may not be as far away as the record currently makes it look.