De Jour En Jour

The win rate is, bluntly, zero from five races. But context matters here. A horse finishing second twice and third twice in five outings is not a horse running out of its depth — it is a horse running right at the edge of its ability and finding one rival just a little too good each time. The difference between a consistent placer and a winner can be razor-thin, and De Jour En Jour has been on the wrong side of that line more than once.

The horse is trained by Ross O'Sullivan at his yard in Kilcullen, County Kildare, and the operation is in good form — 34 winners sent out already this season, which is a healthy return and suggests a yard that knows how to place its horses well. That De Jour En Jour hasn't won yet is unlikely to be for want of trying to find the right opportunity. The question is simply whether the right race comes along before another second place goes on the record.

Currently active and having raced as recently as today, this is a horse still very much in the middle of its story. At six years old, there is time yet. Whether De Jour En Jour is the type who eventually breaks through or the type who makes a career of finishing just behind the best — that remains to be written.