Starting Fifteen

Trained by E McNamara out of Rathkeale in County Limerick, Starting Fifteen is part of a yard that has been in good form this season, sending out 22 winners. That is a productive season by any measure and suggests Starting Fifteen is in capable hands. The horse's own record — one win and four places from seven races, a win rate of roughly 1 in every 7 — tells the story of a horse that is consistently competitive but has found winning harder to come by. Four placed finishes out of seven races is actually a decent ratio; this is not a horse that runs and disappears out the back, it tends to be in the mix.

The recent form figures of 5-7-1-2-4-3 are worth a closer look. Read right to left, they show a horse gradually moving forward: third, fourth, second, then that first win, before fading back to seventh and fifth in the two most recent outings. The step back in those last two runs is the only note of caution here, and with a race just yesterday, there will quickly be a clearer picture of where Starting Fifteen is right now. Whether that Boxing Day win was a peak moment or a sign of things to come is the question the next few months will answer.