Poetic Sound

The good news is that Poetic Sound has a clear distance preference. Over 1m6f to 2m, the horse has won three of eight races—a 38 per cent win rate—which is genuinely strong form and suggests there is a level where it competes competitively. The last victory came three months ago at The Curragh in June, a top-tier track, which proves the horse can perform on a big stage. Colin Keane, the jockey who rides Poetic Sound most often, has won on the horse twice from six races together (a 33 per cent win rate with that particular partnership), which hints that the right equipment or approach brings out the best.

Trained by G M Lyons at Dunsany in County Meath, Poetic Sound is part of a yard in fine form this season with 43 winners already. The trainer clearly knows how to get the best from horses at distance, and there is no obvious reason why Poetic Sound cannot return to winning ways once it finds the right race. The current wobble may simply be a matter of finding the right conditions, trip, and opposition again.