Wandering Rocks

The first win came at Doncaster in July 2022, and the most recent at Ballinrobe in May 2024 — now over two years ago. Since then, Wandering Rocks has run six times without winning, with recent form reading 9-4-7-5-3-8 from its last six outings. A third place in there shows the ability is still present, but the wins have dried up. That Ballinrobe victory came at a distance of around a mile and three or four furlongs, which is precisely where this horse has shown its best form — winning 1 from 7 races at that trip, a 14% win rate that stands out clearly against its overall record.

What makes the career picture a little sobering is the record in Class 2 races, which are among the top contests in Britain and Ireland. Wandering Rocks has been sent out three times at that level and come away empty-handed every time. That does not mean the trainer is wrong to try — William Durkan's yard has hit the board 13 times already this season, so this is not a team short of confidence or form. But it does suggest Wandering Rocks finds life toughest when the competition steps up.

Jockey Oakley Brown has ridden the horse six times and partnered it to its one win in that partnership — that is a 1-in-6 record, or about 17%, which is actually better than the horse's overall average. The pair clearly have some familiarity. With a race just yesterday, Wandering Rocks is very much an active participant, and with eight places from 25 career races, it is not a horse that simply makes up the numbers. It runs into the frame often enough to stay interesting. The question is whether, at seven years old and two years on from its last win, another victory is still in the locker.