Approval

The bright spot in Approval's profile is his relationship with fast, dry ground. On those surfaces, he wins roughly 2 in every 5 races — a 40% win rate that is genuinely impressive and suggests he has real class on his preferred conditions. When the ground is firm and fast, this horse is a different proposition. He also seems to have found his best trip at distances between a mile and three furlongs and a mile and four furlongs, where he's won 1 of 4 races.

Tom Marquand has ridden him twice, winning both times — a 22% win rate together that hints at a productive partnership. E McNamara's Rathkeale yard, based in Co. Limerick, has been in good form this season with 22 winners, and Approval represents the kind of mid-range performer that keeps a training operation ticking over. At Class 2 level, where Approval typically races, he's won 1 of 4 attempts. The puzzle now is whether his long drought reflects a genuine decline or simply the bad luck of drawing wet ground and unsuitable conditions. If fast conditions return and Marquand is back in the saddle, Approval could remind people why he broke his maiden at Windsor and justified top-level placing at Goodwood.