Star Of Markinch

The partnership with jockey Amie Waugh is the most established in the horse's career, the pair having teamed up 15 times together without a win between them. That said, recent form shows some life — the last six runs read 4-10-7-5-4-2, and that second place is the most recent standout. A runner-up finish suggests the horse is still trying, still placing itself in contention, even at the age of ten when many horses have long since retired.

Star Of Markinch competes at Class 6, the entry level of British racing, and has done so in 24 of its 40 races without winning any of them. Class 6 is where horses go to find their best chance of a win — the weakest fields, the most open competitions. The fact that the horse hasn't been able to convert even there makes the win column a genuine puzzle for trainer Gary Rutherford, who operates out of Jedburgh in Roxburghshire. To Rutherford's credit, his yard has sent out seven winners this season, so the operation clearly knows how to get a horse to the front — it just hasn't happened yet for this one.

Whether that breakthrough ever comes is the question that follows Star Of Markinch from race to race. At ten years old, time is not exactly on its side. But a horse that is still active, still placing, and still apparently giving its best at this stage of life is not without its charm. In racing, someone has to finish second — and few do it with quite this much persistence.