Following Orders

The partnership with jockey Tiernan Power Roche is well established at this point — seven of those nine races together, with no wins to show for it. That kind of loyalty between horse and rider without a victory can mean two things: either the team genuinely believes the right race is coming, or they simply haven't found the conditions to unlock what they suspect is in there. Recent form offers a little encouragement, with two runner-up finishes in its last four completed races, suggesting Following Orders is competitive at its level even if the winning line keeps arriving a stride too late.

Trainer P J Rothwell operates out of Tinahely in County Wicklow and is clearly in good form this season, having sent out 35 winners already. That's a yard firing on all cylinders, which makes it all the more curious that this particular horse keeps finishing second rather than first. With a trainer in that kind of productive run, Following Orders is presumably being placed with care — and when the win does eventually come, it will feel well earned after a long wait.