Al Arbeed

The class question is a real one here. Al Arbeed has lined up in Class 2 races, which sit among the better contests in Britain, on four occasions and has yet to win any of them. That is not a disgrace — these are competitive fields — but it does mean the horse has spent a good chunk of its career punching at a level it hasn't yet been able to match. The one win it does have came in a lower-grade race at Southwell, and there has been no follow-up to build on it.

What gives the picture some complexity is the trainer. Richard Hannon, based in Wiltshire, has sent out 109 winners already this season — that is a yard operating at serious volume and with the firepower to place horses shrewdly. When a stable of that size and quality keeps running a horse, there is usually a reason they believe a better day is coming. Al Arbeed raced just yesterday, so the team clearly still sees a race to be won somewhere. Whether that faith is rewarded remains to be seen, but with a 4-year-old still finding its feet, the story is not finished yet.