Alnayef

That sole win came at Hamilton Park on 25 June, just three weeks ago, and it clearly meant something. Hamilton is a tight, undulating track in the west of Scotland that rewards horses who know it — and Alnayef had been knocking on the door long enough that when the moment arrived, he took it. His recent form of 3-1-7-8-4-4 (most recent first) shows a horse who is capable of brilliance in patches but inconsistent enough to keep you guessing.

The most intriguing puzzle in his profile is the partnership with jockey Paul Mulrennan. The two have raced together five times and have yet to win — zero from five — which is a run of bad luck that will not go unnoticed in the yard. Whether that changes is one of the more interesting storylines to follow as Alnayef heads into his next race.

He runs for trainer Jim Goldie, whose operation based at Uplawmoor in Lanarkshire has been in fine form this season, sending out 88 winners — a number that speaks to a yard firing on all cylinders. That context matters: Goldie clearly knows how to get horses ready to win, and Alnayef has now shown he can do it too. He has raced eight times at Class 5 level — the bread-and-butter tier of British racing — without winning at that grade until Hamilton, suggesting he has found his level and is now competitive within it. With a win banked and a race just yesterday, Alnayef is a horse in the middle of his story rather than at the end of it.