Believeinmenow

His recent form tells a mixed story. A second and another second suggested he was knocking on the door, but a ninth and a seventh in between shows just how inconsistent he can be. His trainer Nigel Tinkler, who operates a busy yard in Langton, North Yorkshire and has sent out 37 winners already this season, is candid about where things stand. He was encouraged by a solid run in a race at York but felt last week's fourth at Beverley undersold the horse — and believes there is considerably more ability there than the bare results suggest.

The plan is to give him one more run on the all-weather surface before calling it a year, with the real target being next season. Tinkler's view is straightforward: this is a horse that needs time to grow into himself, and pushing him too hard now would be the wrong move. Jockey Faye McManoman has been aboard for seven of his 11 races and has yet to ride him to a win, though the partnership clearly has the trainer's confidence.

At Class 5 — the entry level of British racing — Believeinmenow has run three times without winning, which means there are questions about whether his current level is even the right place to find his feet. The more interesting question is whether Tinkler is right that next year tells a different story. Plenty of horses that look like slow learners at three develop into proper performers at four. For now, the patience is the plan — and with a trainer who clearly rates him, the wait might be worth it.