Blackwater Lilly

Neil King's Wroughton yard has kept Blackwater Lilly ticking over through a campaign that has seen no recent wins. The horse's last six races tell a familiar story: a fourth, a sixth, two more fourths, and an eleventh. There has been a place in most of those runs, which suggests the horse is competitive enough to land minor money but rarely good enough to finish in front. What is striking is that Blackwater Lilly actually does better over longer distances — it has won one from 15 races at 2 miles and beyond, compared to nothing from seven runs at the higher Class 5 level. The horse seems to need the trip and the room to run, yet even that formula has not clicked in a long time.

Craig Nichol, who has ridden Blackwater Lilly six times, is one of the few to have extracted a win from the horse — a 17 per cent win rate together, which stands out against the overall 4 per cent. That suggests the pairing works, though even that partnership has not produced a winner recently. Blackwater Lilly raced just a day ago and remains active on the circuit, still grinding away for that second win that would at least break the streak and give the yard something to build on.