Double Combo

The most recent run came just yesterday, which puts Double Combo very much in the thick of an active campaign. With a sixth-place finish last time out, the team will be keen to bounce back quickly and find a race where the pieces fall into place. At three years old, there is still plenty of time for development — horses this age are still maturing, and it isn't unusual for one to take a few attempts before things click.

Hugo Palmer trains Double Combo from his yard in Malpas, Cheshire, and the operation is clearly in fine form right now. Sixty-six winners sent out this season is a serious number — that kind of output puts the yard among the busier and more successful outfits in the country, and it signals that Palmer knows how to place horses in races they can win. For a horse yet to get off the mark, being in a yard firing at that rate is genuinely encouraging. The trainer's job now is to find exactly the right opportunity for Double Combo to finally convert that promise into a first victory.