Dark Leader

That one placing was a second, which at least tells you the horse has been competitive at some point. The recent sequence of 6-7-6-2 shows a horse that spent three races finishing mid-pack before suddenly running much closer to the front. Whether that second-place finish signals improvement or was simply a better day on a better day is hard to say with only four races to go on, but it's the most encouraging thing on the card so far.

Dark Leader runs for J.A. Stack, a trainer based in Golden, County Tipperary, who has sent out 12 winners already this season — a solid return that suggests the yard knows how to get a horse ready to perform. With a race just yesterday, Dark Leader is clearly in an active spell, and it will be interesting to see whether the team can build on that recent placed effort and finally get the horse into the winner's enclosure.