Azuinthejungle

Tinkler, who has sent out 37 winners from his Langton stable this season alone, has spoken about how the horse kept improving throughout the year and showed real guts doing it. The phrase "very game" from a trainer like that is not throwaway praise — it means the horse fights when it matters. The flip side is that the summer campaign was perhaps a race or two too many, which explains a dip in form mid-sequence before the horse found its feet again.

Ground conditions appear to be the key. On fast, dry ground, Azuinthejungle has won 2 races from just 5 attempts — that is a 40% win rate, which is a remarkable number at any level of the sport. Compare that to its overall record and it becomes clear that when conditions suit, this horse is a very different proposition. The win at Ayr this week — on what was presumably favourable ground — was the latest proof.

Jockey Faye McManoman has been the regular partner for much of the journey, sitting aboard for 12 of the 24 races and riding both wins together. That kind of continuity matters in racing — a jockey who knows a horse's quirks, when to push and when to wait, is a genuine advantage. Their partnership has a 17% win rate, which mirrors the horse's overall record almost exactly, suggesting they bring out the best in each other rather than either carrying the other.

Most of Azuinthejungle's races have come at Class 5 level — the bread-and-butter tier of British racing — but with four wins on the board, a hot streak fresh in the memory, and a trainer who has already flagged this horse as one to look forward to, there is every reason to think the ceiling has not yet been reached. Right now, the form line is pointing upward.