Love Me

That one win came at Navan in November 2024, and it remains the solitary high point of a career that has otherwise been defined by near-misses. Four places from twelve races suggests this is a horse that often finds the frame — finishes in the top four, earns a little prize money, heads home — without ever quite converting that presence into victory. The problem is that win at Navan is now seventeen months in the rear-view mirror, and the last six runs have produced nothing better than a third place, with a tenth thrown in for good measure.

What is perhaps most telling is Love Me's record at Class 4 level — one of the more competitive mid-tier grades in Britain. Three races at that level, zero wins. That is not a disaster, but it does suggest the horse is operating somewhere close to the ceiling of what it can comfortably achieve on its best days. Jo Davis, who trains the horse from her yard in East Garston, Berkshire, has sent out three winners this season, so the operation is clearly capable of producing results — Love Me just hasn't been the one delivering them lately.

Darragh O'Keeffe has been the regular partner in the saddle, riding the horse in five of its twelve races and combining for that one win — a win rate of 20% together, or 1 in every 5 rides, which is actually a reasonable return. The relationship between horse and jockey clearly had its moment at Navan, and the fact that O'Keeffe keeps coming back suggests there is still belief in what Love Me can do on the right day.

The horse ran just yesterday, which means fitness is not a question. The question is whether Love Me can rediscover the form that made Navan so memorable, or whether that November afternoon in 2024 will end up being the footnote that defines an otherwise modest career.