De Deli Counter

The most recent form gives a mixed picture. A third-place finish, then a fifth, then a second — that runner-up spot is encouraging, the kind of result that suggests the horse is competitive enough to be in the conversation at the business end of a race. It raced just ten days ago, so it is fit and active, and the team clearly believes there is more to come.

De Deli Counter competes typically at Class 5, which is towards the lower end of the racing ladder — these are races where horses are finding their feet or settling into a level that suits them. Winning zero from four at that level is a puzzling return, because Class 5 is precisely where a horse like this might be expected to get off the mark. That said, Mark Walford's yard at Sheriff Hutton in North Yorkshire is in decent nick right now, having sent out 36 winners already this season — a trainer in that kind of form knows what he is doing, and the fact that De Deli Counter keeps being sent out suggests Walford sees potential worth persisting with. Sometimes a horse just needs one race to fall perfectly in its favour, and with a placed finish as recently as the last start, that day might not be far off.