Bunker Bay

The key to Bunker Bay is understanding where he belongs and what he likes. He is at his best over long distances — two miles and beyond — where he has won 2 of his 9 races at that trip (22%), and he absolutely needs normal ground to show his best, winning 2 of his 10 races in those conditions (20%). Both those factors point to a horse who takes time to warm up, who wants a proper test, and who is fussy about the conditions. When everything lines up, though, he delivers. Nowhere is that clearer than at Market Rasen, where he has won twice from just five visits. That is a genuinely impressive record at a single track — winning 2 from 5 anywhere tells you a horse genuinely suits the place, and he backed it up as recently as four weeks ago with his most recent win there on 12 June.

Micky Hammond trains him out of his yard in Middleham, North Yorkshire, a stable that has sent out 31 winners already this season — a busy, productive operation that clearly knows how to place a horse to win. Hammond spotted early on that Bunker Bay needed time and trips to develop, and the patience has paid off. Regular partner Aiden Brookes has ridden him six times without getting the winning feeling yet, but given Bunker Bay's current form — he raced just yesterday — that partnership may yet find its moment. This is a horse competing mostly at Class 5 level, the bread-and-butter end of the sport, where his overall win rate of just 1 in every 18 races at that level can mislead you if you ignore the context. Right now, Bunker Bay is a horse in form, on a course he loves, doing exactly what he was built for.