Donal Hassett

The horse he has turned to most often is Wise Man, a partnership they have tested across three races together without finding the winner's enclosure. Three runs is still a small sample, and plenty of trainers have built something meaningful on less promising early foundations — but for now, both horse and trainer are still searching for that breakthrough moment.

It would be wrong to write off a trainer four years into the job. The learning curve in racing is steep, and some of the most respected names in the sport spent years in the wilderness before things clicked. What Hassett needs more than anything right now is a win — not for the statistics, but for the confidence it brings to a whole yard.