Canopus

At Class 4, which sits firmly in the mid-tier of British racing, Canopus has had three attempts and come away without a win on each occasion. That's not a disaster at this level, but it does raise the question of whether a drop into softer company might unlock something. Three places from nine races overall tells you the horse isn't a complete outsider when the gates open — it's placed nearly one time in three — but a 0% win rate from nine races is a stat that speaks for itself.

What Canopus does have going for it is the training operation behind the scenes. Gary and Josh Moore, based down in Lower Beeding in West Sussex, have sent out 99 winners already this season — a genuinely impressive total that puts the yard among the more productive stables in the country. A team that finds winners at that kind of volume clearly knows how to place a horse and spot an opportunity. Whether they can find the right race to get Canopus off the mark remains to be seen, but if any yard can solve the puzzle, a stable firing at that rate is a decent one to have in your corner.