Dodging The Bullet

The bulk of its racing has come at Class 5 level, which is the everyday, bread-and-butter end of British racing, and even there it has not been able to get its nose in front in four attempts. That is the honest reality of where this horse stands — it has not yet found a race it can win, even at the level where the competition is at its most accessible.

It is trained by Richard J Bandey, based in Tadley in Hampshire, and the yard has sent out 14 winners already this season, so there is clearly ability in the operation to get horses winning. The question is whether Dodging The Bullet can be the next one to add to that tally. The recent second-place finish at least shows it can be competitive, and horses do sometimes click into form without much warning. For now though, this is a horse that keeps turning up, keeps running, and keeps falling just short — which, given the name, feels almost poetically apt.