Evelyn

Her recent form tells a mixed story. A third and a fourth in her last six races are the bright spots, but an eleventh-place finish sandwiched between them, and another eleventh a run later, suggests she is frustratingly inconsistent — capable of running well one day and disappearing into the back of the field the next. She raced just yesterday, so she is clearly an active horse whose the yard are still looking for that elusive first win.

Ryan Treacy has ridden her in six of those races without a winner to show for the partnership, which is no reflection on either of them individually — sometimes a horse and jockey simply haven't found the right opportunity yet. She is trained by Mrs Julie Cashin out of Killenaule in County Tipperary, a small yard that has sent out one winner so far this season. That modest tally puts the operation in context — this isn't a powerhouse stable with horses firing in winners every week, and for a horse like Evelyn, finding the right race to get off the mark will likely matter more than most.

She is six years old, which means patience is running shorter than it once was. Horses can absolutely win their first race at this age, but the window doesn't stay open forever. What Evelyn needs is a race where everything clicks at once — the right ground, the right day, the right pace. She has shown enough in those placed efforts to suggest she is not without ability. Whether that ability ever translates into a victory is the question her trainer is still trying to answer.