Cinderello

That first win came at Uttoxeter, a track in Staffordshire that suits horses who stay on strongly, and it clearly unlocked something. Since then, Cinderello has added two more victories, the most recent coming at Fontwell Park in West Sussex just this week — which means this profile is being written about a horse that was in the winner's enclosure days ago. That kind of current form is exactly what you want to see.

The trainer behind all this is Alex Hales, based at Edgcote in Oxfordshire. It is a yard that has been in fine shape this season, sending out 12 winners — a tally that suggests a stable running with confidence and horses in good health. When a smaller yard is producing at that rate, it often means the horses are being placed cleverly, run when they are ready, and looked after well between races.

Most of Cinderello's races have come at Class 5, which is the bread-and-butter level of British racing — competitive without being elite. At that level, the record reads 1 win from 5 races, a 20% rate, or roughly 1 in 5. That sounds modest until you remember the horse has been winning races at other levels too. The overall picture is of a horse that has taken time to develop but is now racing with real purpose. Three wins in the last six races does not happen by accident.