Chillingham

What makes him interesting is where and when he does perform. On wet or muddy ground, he has won 2 from 7 races — that's a 29% win rate, which is genuinely strong. Most horses at this level win roughly 1 in every 10 or 11 races; on soft ground, Chillingham wins closer to 1 in 3. He also gets better as the distance stretches, with 2 of his 11 races over a mile and three-quarters to two miles ending in victory. His the yard believe that has actually changed — Hammond has said he now wants to be racing him at a mile and a quarter, feeling the longer trips have started to stretch him rather than suit him.

His most notable moment came at York in the Queen Mother's Cup, a win that arrived in slightly unusual fashion when the original winner was disqualified for the jockey's overuse of the whip. However Hammond is clear that the result was deserved — the horse had always shown he belonged in that kind of race. The problem is the handicapper agreed. He's now rated 96, a mark off which he hasn't won in two years, and that rating means he's almost exclusively competing in the top two classes of races in Britain. He has run 15 times at that level without a single win.

Jockey Callum Rodriguez has ridden him nine times for one win together — a 11% win rate, or roughly 1 in every 9 rides. Chillingham raced just yesterday and is very much an active horse. A visor has recently been added, and Hammond felt it worked well at York. A drop back in distance, a wet day, and the right race could yet unlock him again.