Bertie Wooster

What is most interesting about Bertie is not his win rate—roughly one winner every 25 races—but rather his consistency in finding the frame. In Class 4 races, where he typically competes, he has won once in 18 attempts, a 6% win rate. His recent form shows the pattern clearly: in his last six races he has finished fourth twice and second twice, with a seventh-place finish thrown in. That reads as the record of a horse that is competitive most days but just short of being the best on the day. Trainer Joe Tizzard, based at Milborne Port in Dorset, has kept him in work through a season in which the yard has already sent out 52 winners. Regular rider Brendan Powell has been in the saddle for 19 of Bertie's races, winning once—a partnership that underlines how rarely this horse gets to the front.

What keeps Bertie interesting is simple: he was only declared and raced one day ago, which means he is still trying. At eight, with a modest haul of wins, he is unlikely to find glory, but the fact that the yard still bothers to run him suggests they see something worth racing for—a horse that finishes in the frame regularly enough to make it worth the effort. In racing, as in life, showing up and nearly getting there counts for something.