Captain Fox

What the record doesn't show is any sort of consistent pattern yet. Racing at Class 4 level — solid, competitive middle-ground racing, not the glamour end but not a soft touch either — Captain Fox has managed zero wins from three attempts at that level. The places are encouraging, but a horse that finishes second once and third once from five runs is a horse that keeps getting beaten, and at some point the question becomes whether it can turn those near-misses into a victory.

The one genuinely interesting detail here is the yard. Richard Hughes, based at Upper Lambourn in Berkshire, has sent out 65 winners already this season — that's a serious operation. Hughes knows what a racehorse looks like when it's ready to win, and the fact that Captain Fox is still being campaigned actively — running as recently as yesterday — suggests the team believes there's a win in there somewhere. You don't keep entering a horse if you've given up on it. With a bit of luck and the right race, Captain Fox could yet open its account.