Ain't That A Shame

His two wins have both come at Gowran Park in Ireland, which is a detail worth paying attention to. The first came in March 2023, and the second followed in January 2024 — suggesting the track suits him in a way not every course does. Jockey Rachael Blackmore has been on board for 8 of his 14 races and has won 2 of them, a win rate of 25%, or roughly 1 in every 4 rides together. That is a notably better return than his overall record suggests, and it points to a genuine partnership. After that second Gowran win, Blackmore said simply that he deserved it, that the conditions were perfect for him, and that she couldn't have been happier. High praise, delivered simply.

The complication is that his best form has been elusive elsewhere. When tried in top-level Class 1 races — the biggest events in the sport — he has run three times and won none of them. There was also a run at Navan that left trainer Henry de Bromhead genuinely baffled, and a below-par effort in the Troytown that prompted his team to get him checked over. Horses don't always give you answers, and Ain't That A Shame has tested his trainer's patience as much as he has rewarded it.

He is now trained by T Ellis, based in Rugby, Warwickshire — a yard that has sent out 24 winners this season alone, so he is in capable hands. His last win was 28 months ago, which is a long gap, and his recent form of a third, a fall, a sixth, a first, another fall, and a ninth reflects a horse who can still produce something special but not always on demand. At 12, that is probably the deal. When everything lines up — the right track, the right ground, Rachael Blackmore in the saddle — he is capable of surprising people. He just does it on his own terms.