City of God

Recent form tells the story of a horse grinding away without much luck. His last six races have yielded nothing better than a fifth-place finish; a run of 7-8-8-5-8-5 suggests he is regularly in the mix but seldom in the frame. Ridden most often by Sam James, City of God actually shows a better record with the jockey than his overall figures suggest — winning 1 from 5 together, a 20 per cent rate — though even that partnership has cooled in recent runs. The horse races typically at Class 4 level, where he has yet to win in four attempts, suggesting he may find his best races at slightly easier grades.

Trained by Michael Attwater at Epsom, City of God continues to race actively despite his lean spell. The yard itself is in decent form with 27 winners sent out this season, so the infrastructure is there. At four years old and still competing regularly, City of God remains a work in progress — a horse waiting for conditions and luck to align after his long drought since that January success.