The partnership with jockey Adam Caffrey tells a similar story. The two have teamed up six times without a win between them, which is not necessarily a reflection on either — sometimes a horse and rider just never quite click, and sometimes the horse simply isn't finding its best form. What is worth noting is that Heart Of Darkness does show some ability at the shorter distances: over five to six-and-a-half furlongs, it has won 1 from 6 races, a win rate of 17%, or roughly one in every six attempts at those trips. That is meaningfully better than its overall record and suggests there is a more competitive horse in there when the conditions suit.
Trainer Adrian McGuinness, based in Lusk, County Dublin, has had a productive season with 39 winners sent out from the yard, so the operation clearly knows how to get horses to win. Heart Of Darkness, raced just yesterday and therefore very much still active, remains a project in progress — a horse with 3 places on its record that shows it can threaten without delivering, and a yard patient enough to keep running it. Whether that Dundalk win gets company on the CV any time soon is the question, but a second place in recent form suggests the spark has not entirely gone out.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dundalk Galloping |
11 | 1 win, 1 second, 1 third, 8 other | 6 Mar | 9.1% |
| Cork Galloping |
3 | 3 other | 11 Sep | 0% |
| The Curragh Galloping |
2 | 2 other | 16 Oct | 0% |
| Bellewstown Sharp |
1 | 1 other | 1 Oct | 0% |
| Gowran Park Undulating |
1 | 1 other | 23 Apr | 0% |
| Leopardstown Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 12 Apr | 0% |
| Naas Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 23 Mar | 0% |
| Fairyhouse Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 22 Sep | 0% |