Last Note

The recent form makes for interesting reading. A second and a third are buried in those last six runs, which shows Last Note is not simply rolling around at the back of the field — there is ability here, even if the finishing kick to go one better has not yet materialised. The most recent run, just yesterday, produced a twelfth-place finish, which is the kind of result that raises questions about whether the horse is in the form of its life or simply finding its level.

Jack Quinlan has been the regular partner, riding Last Note in six of those seven races, and the pair have yet to find the winner's enclosure together. That said, a jockey does not keep getting booked for a horse without some belief from the yard that the combination could eventually click. Trainer Cian Collins, based in Navan, Co Meath, has sent out 20 winners already this season, so the stable is clearly in good form — Last Note is just one of the horses yet to contribute to that tally.

Almost all of Last Note's racing has come at Class 4 level — the fourth tier of British racing, a solid but unspectacular home for horses of this type. Five races at that level, zero wins. The honest read is that Last Note has spent its career competing in the right grade without quite being able to dominate it. Three places from seven races — that is a horse that competes, finishes respectably often enough, but has not yet put together the complete performance on the right day. Whether that day comes remains the open question.