Diderot

His spiritual home is Chelmsford, where he has won 2 of his 7 races there — a noticeably better return than his overall record suggests. One of those wins came in a Class 2 race in December 2023, which is the highlight of his career so far. That said, it is now 31 months since he last won, and his last six runs read 7th, a blank, then 6th, 5th, 6th, and 12th coming back to the most recent. The form has dried up, and there is no dressing that up. Trainer Julie Camacho, whose yard at Norton in North Yorkshire has sent out 46 winners this season alone, notes that he can be difficult to handle at home — a little quirky, a little hard on himself — but that he has matured noticeably on the track this year, settling far better than he used to.

His regular jockey Daniel Muscutt has ridden him to all three of his wins from their 17 races together, winning roughly 1 in every 6 when paired — better than his overall average. Diderot also shows a clear preference for normal ground conditions, going 3 from 17 on a standard surface. On soft or muddy ground, the results do not follow. Camacho has pointed out that stepping him beyond a mile has never really worked either, which puts a fairly clear ceiling on his options but also simplifies the task of placing him right.

He raced just one day ago, so he is very much in the thick of things. A horse who finished less than a length behind a horse that had won seven times in recent months — as Diderot did at Chelmsford — is not done yet. He just needs things to fall right.