The recent form makes for difficult reading. Looking at the last six races, the best finish was seventh, with results of 14th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 9th, and 11th making up the sequence from most recent backwards. That's a horse that has been running in the bottom half of its fields consistently, and a 14th last time out — just one day ago — won't have lifted spirits around the yard. Racing at Class 5, which is the bread-and-butter level of British racing where horses are supposed to find easier opportunities, Devious Devan has still not managed a win in six attempts at that level. That's a telling detail: these are the races designed to give horses like this a chance, and it hasn't been enough.
Regular jockey Lewis Edmunds has had eight rides on the horse without a win between them, so this is clearly a shared puzzle rather than a matter of the wrong rider. The training operation is a respected one — William Muir and Chris Grassick, based at Lambourn in Berkshire, have sent out 21 winners this season, so the yard clearly knows how to get horses ready to win. Devious Devan just hasn't been one of them yet.
What keeps the story open is those three placed finishes — they confirm this isn't a horse that is simply out of its depth every time it runs. Something is there. Whether the yard can unlock it is the question that every race brings fresh.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolverhampton Galloping |
3 | 1 win, 2 other | 5 May | 33.3% |
| Ffos Las Galloping |
2 | 1 second, 1 other | 26 Jun | 0% |
| Kempton Park Galloping |
2 | 2 other | 10 Oct | 0% |
| Nottingham Galloping |
2 | 1 second, 1 third | 13 Jun | 0% |
| Ascot Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 5 Sep | 0% |
| Southwell Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 28 Apr | 0% |
| Chepstow Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 12 Jul | 0% |
| Great Yarmouth Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 11 Apr | 0% |