Ebselysees

The level he typically competes at makes that record feel even more frustrating. He has run six times in Class 5 races — the entry-level tier of British racing — without winning any of them. That is the grade where horses are expected to be competitive, and he has yet to convert. Three placed finishes across his career show he is capable of getting close, but close and winning are very different things in horse racing.

His most recent form gives a mixed picture: a second place and a fifth sandwiched around a couple of sixes suggest a horse that occasionally shows up but cannot find the consistency to put a race to bed. He has not raced for roughly three months now, which could mean a minor setback or simply a planned break — either way, he returns needing to find something extra. James Davies has ridden him in eight of his ten races, winning once together, a rate of around one in every eight rides. That is a long-standing partnership, but it has not yet unlocked anything special.

Susan Corbett trains him from her yard in Otterburn, Northumberland, and she has had a decent enough season — 13 winners sent out in the current campaign, which shows the operation knows how to get horses ready to win. The question is whether Ebselysees is the type to add to that tally, or whether he is the kind of dependable workhorse who makes up the numbers while the stable's better sorts take the glory. With one career win to his name, at seven years old, the window for a breakthrough is narrowing. He will need to find Huntingdon form again — and soon.