Blazeon Five

The most eye-catching number in Blazeon Five's record is the performance on wet or muddy ground: 3 wins from just 5 races in those conditions, a 60% win rate. That means when the rain comes and the ground gets soft, this horse becomes a completely different proposition — the kind of stat that makes it one of the first names shrewd followers look for on a wet raceday. Pair that with a preference for longer distances of a mile and three quarters to two miles, where it has won 6 of 13 races (46%), and you have a horse that is at its best grinding out a test over a stamina-sapping trip in difficult conditions.

Then there is Ascot. Three wins from four races at one of racing's most famous venues is the sort of record that makes people pay attention. Courses suit certain horses for reasons that are not always obvious — the shape of the track, the camber, the way the ground tends to ride — and Blazeon Five has clearly found something it likes at Ascot. Only one race there has ended in defeat.

Trained by Alan King at Wroughton in Wiltshire, Blazeon Five is part of a yard that has sent out 58 winners already this season — a team clearly in good form. The horse's most regular jockey is Lewis Edmunds, who has ridden it in 6 races together for 1 win, though the partnership is still relatively young. What is beyond doubt is that Blazeon Five remains a live contender whenever the rain arrives, the trip stretches out, and the track is one it knows well. At eight, it is showing no signs of slowing down.