Adrian

His recent form does at least show some life. Looking at his last six races in reverse order, he finished 4th, 2nd, 3rd, 10th, 8th, and 3rd — so buried in there are a second and two thirds, which tells you he is not simply making up the numbers. The problem is that the gap between placing and winning has remained stubbornly unbridged. He is now returning from a break of roughly four months, which could mean the yard have been patiently waiting for the right opportunity, or simply that he needed time off. Either way, fresh legs can sometimes spark something new.

Adrian typically competes at Class 6, which is the lowest rung of British racing — races designed for horses that have not been able to win at higher levels. Even here, across ten attempts at this grade, he has not managed a win. His regular jockey Aidan Keeley has ridden him five times without a victory, and trainer Bernard Llewellyn's yard in Fochriw, Mid Glamorgan, has sent out eight winners this season, so it is not as though the team lacks the ability to get a horse to the line first. Adrian just has not been that horse yet.

What makes a profile like this genuinely interesting is not the absence of wins but the persistence. Nineteen races is a lot of tries. There will be an owner somewhere who keeps paying training fees, keeps travelling to racecourses, and keeps hoping. Racing is full of horses like Adrian — workmanlike, honest, just short of good enough — and they matter to the people who care for them just as much as the champions do. Whether a first win ever comes remains to be seen, but if it does, it will have been a long time coming.