Abila

The recent form makes for tough reading. Over the last six races, Abila has finished seventh, sixth, sixth, tenth, fifth, and ninth — with that fifth place being the closest thing to a bright spot in an otherwise flat sequence. Crucially, fifth isn't a place in racing terms; you need to be in the top three to collect prize money, so even that effort didn't put anything in the bank. The horse raced just one day ago, so it is fresh in the mind and very much still active.

Ian Williams is no small operation — his yard has sent out 96 winners this season, which tells you this is a genuinely competitive training set-up. The fact that Abila hasn't troubled the judge at Class 5, which is the lower end of the racing ladder in Britain, is worth noting. Three races at that level, nothing to show for it. When a horse from a yard that wins as often as Williams's can't get on the scoresheet at the humbler end of the sport, it raises honest questions about where the horse might eventually find its win — or whether it will find one at all.