Malton Groove

What makes this story more than just a tale of frustration is who this horse is related to. Dermot McLoughlin, who trains him from his yard in Ratoath, County Meath, has pointed out that Malton Groove shares three-quarters of his bloodline with Minella Times — the horse that won the 2021 Grand National under Rachael Blackmore in one of the most celebrated moments in recent racing history. That is a serious pedigree, and it explains why McLoughlin has stuck with him. Breeding like that earns patience.

Patrick O'Brien has been in the saddle for 11 of those 31 races without managing to get him over the line, which at this point feels less like bad luck and more like a genuine puzzle the pair have yet to solve together. McLoughlin's yard has been in decent form this season — ten winners sent out — so the operation clearly knows how to get horses to win. Malton Groove, for now, remains the exception.

McLoughlin has suggested the horse was slow to mature physically, describing him as very backward in his earlier days, and has expressed hope that he would grow into himself over time. That kind of late-developer narrative is common enough in racing, but at nine years old, the window for a breakthrough is getting narrower. Every race he runs without winning makes the fairytale ending slightly harder to believe — though with that bloodline and a trainer still clearly in his corner, nobody seems ready to give up just yet.