Slim Marvel

That sole career win came at Kilbeggan on 12 July 2024, and it remains the only one. That's now 22 months ago, and the last 6 races have brought nothing better than a fifth place, with two runs that didn't reach the frame at all. The recent form figures — 4, 7, pulled up or fell, pulled up or fell, 5, 7 — paint a picture of a horse that's been finding things tough lately, even by its own modest standards.

Philip Donovan is the jockey most associated with Slim Marvel, partnering the horse in 9 of its races and picking up that one win together. That gives them a shared win rate of 11% — roughly 1 win in every 9 rides — which is actually considerably better than Slim Marvel's overall record and suggests the partnership works as well as any. Donovan clearly knows what he's dealing with, and the horse may simply show its best with a familiar rider.

Rebecca Curtis trains Slim Marvel from her yard in Newport, Pembrokeshire, and she's having a productive season with 18 winners already sent out. Curtis is a trainer who has handled some smart horses over the years, which makes Slim Marvel an interesting yard resident — not a headline act, but kept active and clearly thought capable of finding another opportunity somewhere. For a horse with a career win total of one, the fact that a yard in that kind of form keeps running it says the team still believes there's a race out there with Slim Marvel's name on it. Whether that day comes again is another matter.