Mount Frisco

At seven years old and with 40 races under its belt, Mount Frisco has collected 2 wins and 15 placed finishes over its career — meaning it has finished in the top three nearly half the time it has raced, without winning as often as those near-misses might suggest it should. Both wins came in early 2024, first at Tramore on New Year's Day and then at Limerick on the 30th of January. That's a fortnight of glory over a year ago, and the horse has not reached the winner's enclosure in the 27 months since. With six races since that last win and nothing better than a third place to show for them, the wins feel increasingly distant.

Regular jockey Daniel King has been aboard for 17 of those 40 races together and is still waiting for a winner — 0 from 17 is a long run of near-misses for any partnership. The horse is trained by John Patrick Ryan at Templemore in County Tipperary, a yard that has been in good form this season with 21 winners sent out, so it is not a question of a yard going through a quiet spell. Mount Frisco simply needs everything to fall right: the right conditions, the right day.

It raced just yesterday, so it is clearly being kept busy and its trainer has not given up on it. Given that this horse has shown genuine ability when the rain arrives and the ground cuts up, patience may yet be rewarded. It just needs another miserable Irish winter's day.