Edna E Mode

The recent form is actually encouraging, in a bittersweet sort of way. Looking at the last six races — finishing 8th, 10th, 3rd, 7th, 3rd, and most recently 4th — there are two third-place finishes in there, which suggests the horse is competitive and willing. The 10th-place effort is the outlier; on either side of it, Edna E Mode was placing. That matters. A horse that finishes third twice in six races isn't a bad horse — it's a horse that hasn't yet found the right moment to win.

Jockey Ciaran Gethings has ridden the horse six times without a win between them, though it's worth noting that their partnership has produced some of those placed efforts. The pair clearly know each other well by now. Trainer Robert Stephens, based at Caldicot in Monmouthshire, has had 11 winners out of his yard this season — so the team is capable of finding the winner's enclosure. The question is simply when Edna E Mode will be the horse that gets them there.

Competing almost exclusively at Class 5 — the entry level of British racing — Edna E Mode has gone eight races at that level without winning. That's the puzzle. This is exactly the grade where a horse with placed form should theoretically be competitive enough to win. The talent to finish in the frame is clearly there. What's missing is that final, decisive burst. Raced just yesterday and still active, the next opportunity isn't far away — and if the recent improvement continues, it may only be a matter of time before the name on everyone's lips is Edna E Mode.