No Looking Back

The most striking number in this profile is 41 months. That is how long it has been since No Looking Back last won a race — a victory at Limerick on 29 December 2022. Over two years of racing since then, with nothing to show for it in the winner's enclosure. The recent form reads 10-3-4-10-13 in the last five completed runs, which tells a mixed story: a pair of placed efforts tucked in among some disappointing finishes. The horse is clearly still capable of running into the money on a good day, but getting its nose in front has proved elusive.

What does offer a glimmer of encouragement is what happens when No Looking Back is asked to run over a mile and six furlongs to two miles. In three races at those distances, it has won twice — that is a 67% win rate, which is a genuinely remarkable figure. Most horses at this level would be happy winning 1 in 5 or 1 in 6; winning 2 from 3 at a specific distance suggests something much more targeted is possible if the yard — sorry, if McKiernan's team — can place it in the right race. The yard has sent out 6 winners this season, so there is clearly some form in the stable.

Regular partner Phillip Enright has ridden the horse in 15 of its 19 races, picking up 2 of those wins together — winning roughly 1 in every 7 rides. That is a long-standing partnership, and the familiarity counts for something. The horse raced just one day ago and remains active, which means the team is clearly not giving up on finding another winning opportunity. The key, on everything this record suggests, is finding a race over that sweet-spot distance. Do that, and No Looking Back might finally end a very long wait.