Charlie's Dilemma

The most recent form gives a slightly mixed picture. Two second-place finishes and a third suggested Charlie's Dilemma was building toward something, but the last couple of runs — finishing seventh and eighth — point in the wrong direction. A gap in the record mid-sequence adds a little mystery, and the horse was back out just yesterday, so the team clearly have not given up on finding the right opportunity. Whether that latest run produced anything more encouraging remains to be seen.

Regular partner Mr A Harvey has been in the saddle for all six of those most recent races and has yet to ride the horse to a win either, which means the combination is still searching for that breakthrough together. That said, trainer John C McConnell is no stranger to winners — his yard in Stamullen, Co Meath has sent out 42 winners already this season, which tells you this is a competent and active operation that knows how to get horses to perform. The fact that Charlie's Dilemma has not won yet probably says more about the horse finding its right opportunity than any lack of ability around it. Sometimes it just takes longer to find the perfect spot — and with a busy, successful trainer still running the horse, that search is clearly ongoing.