Chhota Saab

That recent sequence — 10, 8, 6, 3, 6, 2 — actually tells an interesting story if you read it from back to front. Earlier in the season this horse was finishing in the bottom half of fields, but over time the numbers have been creeping in the right direction. A second place in one of those runs shows Chhota Saab has got close to breaking through, and the general trend toward the sharp end of the field is the kind of improvement that trainers quietly encourage.

The stable behind this horse is S Woods, based in Newmarket — the heartland of British flat racing and one of the most competitive training centres in the country. The yard has sent out 23 winners this season, so they clearly know how to get a horse ready to win. The fact that Chhota Saab hasn't managed it yet despite being in capable hands simply underlines how competitive things are, even at Class 5 level, which is where most of this horse's races have come. Class 5 sits toward the lower end of the British racing ladder, but that doesn't mean it's easy — these races are full of other horses in exactly the same situation, all waiting for their turn.

Kieran O'Neill has been the regular jockey, partnering Chhota Saab in six of those eight races without a win between them. That's a long run together without a breakthrough, though jockey-horse partnerships often simply need the right opportunity rather than a change of plan. The key question is whether the improving form — culminating in that runner-up finish — signals that the right opportunity is getting close.