Bright Image

The recent form offers a small crumb of comfort. Bright Image has shown signs of at least being competitive in places — a pair of fourth-place finishes and a fifth suggest it isn't simply making up the numbers every time out. But a tenth and a twelfth are also in there, and those performances point to a horse that can be inconsistent as much as unlucky. Racing just one day ago, it remains active and presumably its team still believes there is a race to be won somewhere.

At seven, time is not exactly on Bright Image's side. Horses can improve and surprise — racing has plenty of those stories — but eleven races without even placing is a significant hurdle to look past. The hope, for anyone following this horse, is that the right race, on the right day, finally comes along.