Counting Cards

The recent form paints an interesting picture. Back-to-back second-place finishes a few races ago showed real ability, and a fourth just last time out suggests the level is there. But the most recent run — a pulled-up finish marked by that dash in the form — raises a question worth watching. Was it just an off day, or something more? With Counting Cards having raced just yesterday, the yard will know more soon enough.

Jockey Callum Rodriguez has been aboard for five of those eight races and is yet to ride the horse to victory, going 0 from 5 together. That kind of partnership without a win can start to feel like a pattern, though it is just as likely a reflection of the horse's overall record as anything else. Rodriguez is clearly the yard's trusted choice here, and if the breakthrough comes, he looks set to be the one in the saddle for it.

The trainer is Edward Bethell, operating out of Middleham in North Yorkshire — one of British racing's great training strongholds, tucked into the Yorkshire Dales. Bethell's yard has been in fine form this season, sending out 62 winners, which tells you this is not an outfit short of ability or knowhow. That makes Counting Cards a slight curiosity — a horse trained somewhere clearly capable of winning races, competing at Class 4 level (a solid middle tier of the sport), yet to break through. The talent is around it. The ingredients seem right.

At four years old, Counting Cards is not running out of time, but it is entering the phase of its career where patience starts to feel like something that needs rewarding. Three places from eight races is the record of a horse that belongs — it just needs everything to click on the right day.