Captain Ciano

The partnership with jockey James Ryan has been given a fair crack of the whip: seven races together and still searching for that first win. That is a long audition, and at some point the question has to be asked whether a change in the saddle might unlock something new. The most recent form figures — finishing tenth last time out after a string of unrecorded finishes in between — do not make for pretty reading, and the last six races have produced no wins at all.

What works in Captain Ciano's favour is the yard behind it. Trainer T.G. McCourt, based in Stamullen in County Meath, has sent out 13 winners already this season, which suggests this is a functioning, active operation that knows how to get a horse to the track in competitive shape. A horse trained somewhere that wins regularly is not simply making up the numbers — it is there for a reason, even if that first victory is proving frustratingly elusive. Captain Ciano raced just one day ago, so it is very much a horse in the middle of a campaign, and there will be more opportunities to come.