Banana

The real story, though, is what has happened since July 2025. Banana's last win came 13 months ago at Chepstow, and in the six races since then it has not found its way to the front once, although it has managed four places — including a second, twice — showing it can still run competitively without quite getting over the line. Most recently, across its last six outings, the form reads 4-2-10-2-4-10: some respectable efforts, some forgettable ones, the sort of patchy sequence you'd expect from a veteran on the way down or one that has simply lost a yard or two of pace. The horse was last out just a day ago, which means it is still very much in work at Scott Dixon's Rolleston yard in Nottinghamshire, a stable that has had a solid season with 33 winners already.

Kieran O'Neill has been Banana's regular partner, with 1 win from 13 races together — an 8% return that is better than the overall picture, though hardly a ringing endorsement. There is not much left to prove here. Banana is the sort of honest, unglamorous campaigner who pays its way at the lower end of the sport, a reliable if infrequent winner whose best days probably belong to the past. Racing folk see hundreds of horses like this: still competing because they are sound and game, still capable of winning a race now and then, but no longer the force they once were.