Astute Power

The recent form tells an interesting story. The two most recent runs returned finishes of fourth and fifth, which is a step up from the 13th and 14th place efforts earlier in the sequence. That kind of gradual improvement is worth noting — horses that are quietly finding their feet can sometimes click into gear without much warning, and Astute Power does appear to be heading in the right direction, even if slowly.

The horse runs out of Edward Lynam's yard in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, a trainer who has sent out six winners already this season. Lynam is not a name associated with making up the numbers, so the fact that this horse is still in training and being actively campaigned — it raced just yesterday — suggests the team believe there is a race to be won with it somewhere. At four years old, time is not yet a concern, and plenty of horses take longer than expected to find the right opportunity. Whether Astute Power can deliver on that patience remains the question, but the trend at least points in a more promising direction than the overall record might first suggest.