Lust

The most recent six runs tell a similar story: finishing positions of 20th, 8th, 10th, 5th, 11th, and 19th (reading back to front, with 19th being the most recent). Nothing there to set the pulse racing, and the horse heads into its comeback having been off the track for around five months. A long break can mean many things — a minor setback, a reset, a fresh attempt to find something that clicks — but history suggests patience will be required.

The partnership with jockey Sean Bird has been the most consistent feature of this horse's recent career, and it has not produced a single win in 13 races together. That does not make Bird a bad rider, but it does suggest this particular combination has yet to unlock whatever is needed. Trainer Conor David Maxwell, based in Stamullen in County Meath, has sent out six winners this season, so the yard is clearly capable — Lust just has not been the one to contribute to that tally.

The first win came at Gowran Park back in October 2021, followed by a second at Naas in May 2022. Two wins, a handful of placed efforts, and then a long, quiet stretch. Lust is not a horse with a big occasion to point to or a course it dominates — it is simply a horse that has found winning genuinely hard to come by. Returning after five months away, the question is whether something has changed, or whether the story continues in much the same vein.