Big Dispute

The recent form figures of 3-6-3-3-2-12 paint an interesting picture. Read from right to left — oldest to newest — you can see a horse that went badly off the boil at some point, then gradually worked its way back into contention, finishing second and then third on multiple occasions before that sixth-place run last time. It is the pattern of a horse hovering just outside the winner's enclosure, which at seven years old raises the question of whether it will ever quite get back there.

Phillip Enright has been the regular partner in the saddle, riding Big Dispute five times without a win between them. That is not necessarily a criticism of either horse or jockey — sometimes a combination just doesn't quite click — but five winless outings together is a streak worth noting. Kevin Thomas Coleman trains the horse from his yard in Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary, and the operation is clearly in decent health this season with 10 winners already sent out. Whether Big Dispute can add to that tally is the open question. It raced just yesterday, so it is very much an active campaign — Coleman is clearly not giving up on finding another moment like Killarney 2023. The horse just needs to find one too.