Crackergee

That run came just a day ago, and it was arguably his best. Racing for the first time in a race where the weights are adjusted to give every horse a fair chance, Crackergee finished second at Kempton on the all-weather track, beaten by just a neck by a horse called Scarlet Moon. A neck is nothing — the width of a human hand separating him from his first victory. Hughie Morrison, who trains Crackergee out of his yard at East Ilsley in Berkshire, noted the run with quiet optimism. "He could be okay," was Morrison's assessment — understated, as trainers tend to be, but that kind of comment from a professional who has sent out 20 winners already this season carries some weight.

The breeding is interesting too. Crackergee is a half-brother to Kyle Of Lochalsh and is by Cracksman, a stallion who was one of the best racehorses in Britain in his day. That pedigree hints that Crackergee might be the sort of horse who takes time to find his feet — not every talented horse announces itself early.

His recent form reads 4-5-5-13-4-10, which tells the story of a horse who competes consistently without quite breaking through, mostly in Class 4 races — the bread-and-butter level of the sport, where he has yet to win in six attempts. But that near-miss at Kempton looks like a gear change. Sometimes a horse just needs the right conditions and the right race to click, and stepping into a handicap for the first time and immediately going so close suggests Crackergee may have found his niche. Whether he can turn that neck deficit into a winning margin next time out is the question Morrison and his team will be hoping to answer soon.