The recent form is a mixed picture. A fourth-place finish and a runner-up spot in the last six races show some life, but there are also a couple of blank runs in there, and Schiehallion has gone six races without troubling the winner's enclosure. At nine years old, time is not exactly on its side, which makes every race feel like another chapter in a story that fans of this horse desperately want to end differently.
Regular jockey Michael J Molloy has been aboard for six of those races together, and the pair are yet to find the winner's circle — a partnership that clearly has belief behind it, given how often they've been put together, but one still searching for its breakthrough moment. Meanwhile, trainer Dermot A McLoughlin's yard at Bodeen in Ratoath has sent out 10 winners this season, so the operation clearly knows how to win races. Schiehallion, so far, just hasn't been one of them.
Having raced just one day ago, this is a horse very much still in active service, and McLoughlin has shown no signs of giving up on it. For a nine-year-old without a win, that loyalty says something. Perhaps the team sees something in Schiehallion that the record doesn't yet reflect. Or perhaps they're simply hoping that after 19 attempts, the law of averages eventually has to give something back.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairyhouse Galloping |
3 | 3 other | 1 Jan | 0% |
| Punchestown Galloping |
3 | 3 other | 13 May | 0% |
| Downpatrick Undulating |
3 | 3 other | 10 Oct | 0% |
| Down Royal Galloping |
3 | 2 seconds, 1 other | 31 Oct | 0% |
| Bellewstown Sharp |
2 | 1 second, 1 other | 18 Apr | 0% |
| Wexford Sharp |
2 | 2 other | 24 Jul | 0% |
| Naas Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 12 Nov | 0% |
| Tramore Sharp |
1 | 1 other | 18 Sep | 0% |
| Navan Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 9 Dec | 0% |