Prince Rhinegold

That one career victory came at Exeter back in February 2023, now more than three years ago. Since then, Prince Rhinegold has gone 6 races without troubling the winner's enclosure, with recent finishes of 4th, 9th, 2nd, 5th, 2nd, and 10th. There are glimpses in there — a pair of runner-up spots suggest he's not completely out of ideas — but consistency has been elusive.

He is trained by Linda Blackford, a small yard based in Rackenford, Devon, which has sent out just one winner so far this season. His most regular jockey is Sean Houlihan, who has partnered him 16 times without a win between them. That's a long partnership to maintain without a victory, though it does suggest loyalty from the team rather than a frantic search for answers. Prince Rhinegold races most often over distances of two miles or more, where he has won 1 from 13 — modest, but that single win did come in this range, so it remains his best chance of finding the right conditions again. Notably, in the lower-tier races he typically enters at Class 5 level, he has yet to win in 12 attempts, which is a little surprising given that these are the most accessible races available to him.

He raced just yesterday, which means he is very much still active and campaigning. At eight years old, he's an experienced horse who knows his job — he just hasn't been able to put it all together since that afternoon at Exeter more than three years ago. For now, Prince Rhinegold is one of those horses that keeps turning up, keeps placing occasionally, and keeps giving his the yard a reason to saddle him up again — even if the winning formula has proved stubbornly difficult to find.