Mythical

The numbers are difficult to spin. In 23 races, Mythical has never once crossed the line first. That single place finish — a second or third somewhere along the way — represents the closest this horse has come to a moment of glory across an entire career. Most horses at this level will nick a win eventually; Mythical has not managed it yet.

Phil Dennis has taken the ride eight times, which makes him the jockey most willing to keep the faith, though he too is still waiting for a first win aboard the horse — zero from eight together. At Class 4, which is the bread-and-butter level of British racing rather than the glamorous end, Mythical has run 11 times and drawn a blank on every occasion. These are races specifically designed to give horses a chance to win, and Mythical has not taken one.

Recent form offers little encouragement either. The dashes in the record indicate the horse did not finish — or was pulled up — in four of its last six outings, with an eighth and a seventh place among the other two. Yesterday's run is the most recent chapter, and while the result is not yet reflected here in full, the pattern heading into it was not one of a horse threatening to turn things around.

What keeps Mythical in training at nine is a question only the yard can answer. Some horses simply love the routine of racing life, and some trainers are loyal to a fault in the best possible way. Mythical has earned nearly nothing on the track, but it has clearly earned enough trust to keep getting a run. Whether that changes anytime soon seems unlikely given the evidence — but then again, every horse that has ever won was once on a losing streak.