Dashing Darcey

That Haydock win is worth dwelling on. Harker was clearly excited afterwards, describing the horse as progressive and noting how well it had taken to stepping up in distance. The plan at that point was to aim at the Britannia — one of the feature races at Royal Ascot — which tells you the team believed they had a horse going places. Twenty-three months on, still waiting for the next win, that optimism feels like a long time ago.

The distance stats are encouraging, at least. Over one mile and one furlong to one mile and two furlongs, Dashing Darcey has won 3 of 8 races — that's 38%, which is a genuinely strong number and suggests the yard has found the right trip. On normal ground, the record is even better: 2 wins from just 4 races, or 50%. When the conditions suit, this horse is capable.

The problem is what happens when the horse is asked to step up in class. In the top two tiers of British racing, Dashing Darcey has run six times and won precisely none of them. That's the ceiling that keeps being tested and keeps holding firm. Harker's yard has sent out four winners already this season, so there's form in the stable — but getting Dashing Darcey back to the winner's enclosure, especially at the higher level, is the challenge that remains unsolved. Raced just yesterday, the horse is clearly fit and active. Whether a return to the right distance on a good surface can finally end the drought is the question worth watching.