Tabletalk

What makes Tabletalk interesting is his best-distance performance. Over a mile and three to four furlongs, he has won one of three races — a 33% win rate at that trip that stands in sharp contrast to his overall record. He struggles badly at the very top level, having never won in seven attempts at Class 1 races, but place him on a course that plays to his strengths and he becomes a different proposition. Trainer Tom Clover has clearly identified this pattern. After Tabletalk was touched off narrowly at Newbury over a mile and four furlongs earlier this year, Clover suggested the Aston Park Stakes — a Group 3 back over the track and distance where he has thrived — might suit him better than stepping up in trip or testing himself again at the highest level. When ridden by Rossa Ryan, a jockey who knows the horse well, Tabletalk has won two of seven races together, a 29% win rate that suggests real chemistry. Currently active and last raced just a day ago, Tabletalk remains in the mix, still capable of producing the kind of performance that suggests his best season may not yet be behind him.