What makes this particularly puzzling is the quality of the yard behind the horse. Trainer Ben Pauling, based in Naunton in the Gloucestershire countryside, has sent out 91 winners this season alone — that is a genuinely productive operation by any measure. Horses from this yard are clearly capable of winning races, which makes My Fortune's blank record harder to explain away as a training problem. The talent is there on the team's side; something else is not clicking.
Jockey Ben Jones has had five chances aboard My Fortune without a single win to show for it, and the partnership has not produced a place finish either. That is not necessarily a criticism of the rider — a horse that finishes eighth is rarely beaten by the person on top — but five attempts together with nothing to show suggests the combination has not found a breakthrough yet. My Fortune typically lines up in Class 3 races, which sits in the middle tier of British racing — not the very top level, but still competitive enough that you need to be running to your best. In four races at that level, it has won none of them.
Raced as recently as yesterday, My Fortune is at least active and being given chances. Whether a turnaround is coming is genuinely hard to say on the evidence available. Eight races is a reasonable sample, and the results so far paint a consistent picture. Sometimes a horse simply needs the right conditions, the right track, or one small thing to fall into place. My Fortune is still waiting for that moment.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newbury Galloping |
2 | 2 other | 17 Dec | 0% |
| Bangor-on-Dee Sharp |
1 | 1 other | 16 May | 0% |
| Leicester Sharp |
1 | 1 other | 30 Nov | 0% |
| Kempton Park Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 10 Jan | 0% |
| Ludlow Undulating |
1 | 1 other | 4 Feb | 0% |
| Sandown Park Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 9 Nov | 0% |
| Southwell Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 24 Mar | 0% |