Chopsticks

The overall numbers are modest — a 4% win rate, meaning roughly 1 win in every 25 races — but zoom in on the distances Chopsticks prefers, between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, and the picture improves noticeably. One win from 10 races at those trips is a 10% win rate, which tells you the horse is far more competitive when allowed to get into a proper staying gallop rather than being asked to quicken over shorter. At the right trip, on the right day, Chopsticks is a genuine contender.

The partnership with Shane Foley is one of those statistical curiosities that racing throws up — nine races together and no wins, which sounds damning until you remember that Chopsticks had not won at all until very recently. The horse has spent most of its career close to the frame rather than in it. Trainer John C McConnell, based at Stamullen in County Meath, has had a productive season with 42 winners sent out, so this is clearly a yard that knows how to get horses ready. Chopsticks raced just yesterday, which means the team is keeping this horse busy and in form.

The telling detail is that run of recent form — a win followed immediately by a second place. After years of near-misses, Chopsticks appears to have clicked into gear at exactly the right moment. Whether that Sligo victory was the turning point or a happy one-off is the question worth watching. At six years old, with a yard in fine form behind it and a preferred distance clearly identified, there is every reason to think the best of Chopsticks may only just be arriving.