El Fontenaro

The most recent form makes for difficult reading. In its last six races, the best it has managed is fourth, and it has twice finished outside the top ten. Jockey Ronan Whelan has been aboard for eight of those attempts and is still looking for his first win on the horse — zero from eight is a partnership that hasn't clicked yet, at least not enough to matter when it counts.

At four years old, El Fontenaro is young enough that there is still time to turn things around, and Fahey's yard has shown it can produce winners this season — three have come out this year. But for this particular horse, a breakthrough has proved elusive. Raced just yesterday, it is clearly fit and active, and the team keep running it, which suggests they believe there is a race to be won somewhere. The question is whether that belief will eventually be rewarded.