Without Exception

What makes the recent form genuinely encouraging is the shape of it. Reading the last six runs from most recent backwards — a fourth, a pulled-up run, a third, a thirteenth, a second, and then that Punchestown win — you can see a horse that has had a bumpy patch but was in fine form before it. The pulled-up run is the obvious blot, but horses have off days, and the third-place finish just before it suggests Without Exception is capable of mixing it at a decent level when things click.

The trainer is P J Rothwell, based at Tinahely in County Wicklow, and the yard has been in strong form this season with 35 winners already on the board. That kind of volume from a yard means horses are fit, well-placed, and given real chances — and with Without Exception last racing just 17 days ago, this is clearly a horse being kept busy and competitive. Rothwell clearly believes there is more to come, and given the horse's placed form, that faith does not look misplaced. The question is whether Without Exception can convert those near-misses into a second career win before too long.