Dalmally

That single win came at Brighton in October 2024, and it has now been 21 months since he last crossed the line first. His recent form reads 3-6-8-5-8-7, a sequence that suggests a horse finding places here and there without quite converting, and his overall record of 7 places alongside that one win shows he is competitive enough to get involved — he just has not been able to land the punch.

Pattinson, who has sent out 5 winners from his Epsom base this season, is candid about why. Dalmally has pace — genuine cruising speed — but he burns through it too early. In a recent race at Windsor, the horse hit the front a furlong and a half from home, which sounds promising until you realise that doing so too soon meant he simply ran out of petrol before the line. He has the talent to lead; he just has not learned when to deploy it. It is the classic problem of a horse that feels good and cannot help himself.

At distances of 7 furlongs to a mile, he has won 1 from 6 races, a win rate of 17% — significantly better than his overall figures, which suggests the trip suits him when everything clicks. He competes almost entirely at Class 5 level, the bread-and-butter end of the sport, where he has managed 1 win from 11 races. That 9% win rate at that level is low, but the key word from Pattinson is "once" — once he learns to settle. Dalmally is still a horse being taught how to race, and that is not a criticism, it is a reason to keep watching.