Asdana

The recent form is genuinely curious. Reading from most recent backwards, the last six races look like this: a non-finish of some kind, then fourth, second, fourteenth, tenth, and that winning first. So after the Cork breakthrough, something went wrong — the fourteenth and tenth placings represent a sharp dip — before Asdana bounced back to second, then fourth, and then whatever happened most recently. That's a horse whose form zigzags rather than builds, which makes it tricky to predict but not impossible to follow. The second place finish in particular is worth noting: close, but not close enough, and that pattern of nearly-but-not-quite runs through this career like a thread.

W J Lee has been the regular partner in the saddle, riding Asdana six times without a win between them — the Cork victory came, but not with Lee aboard. That's not a criticism; plenty of good horses and jockeys take time to click, and six races is a limited sample. Meanwhile, McCreery's yard has been in solid form this season, sending out 21 winners, which means this is a team that knows how to get a horse ready to perform. Asdana raced just yesterday, so fitness is clearly not the concern — the question is whether that elusive winning feeling from Cork can be rediscovered. One win in 15 races is a modest return, but for a 4-year-old still finding its way, the story isn't finished yet.