Pahlavi

What's telling about Pahlavi is not what it has achieved but what it keeps trying to do. It races regularly, was out just days ago, and continues to run despite a win rate of barely 3 per cent. That's the horse-racing equivalent of someone who shows up to work every day knowing the odds are against them. Most of Pahlavi's races have resulted in a placed finish — eleven times from 34 attempts it has come second, third, fourth or fifth — which means the horse is competitive enough to trouble the winner, just not quite good enough to get there. Jockey Paddy Hanlon has ridden it eleven times, winning once, a relationship built on persistence rather than sparkling returns. Trainer John Joseph Hanlon, based in Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, has kept faith with the horse through years of narrow misses. His yard has sent out eleven winners this season, so he knows how to train a winner — Pahlavi just isn't quite it. For a horse that still races at nine years old with only one win to its name, staying in the game is achievement enough.