El Matador

Since that Chepstow victory, though, the form has fallen away sharply. His last four runs read 10th, 7th, 5th, and 2nd — a clear step backward after those encouraging wins, though the most recent placing does hint that he might be working his way back into contention. He raced just yesterday, so he is very much in the thick of his season right now.

The one area where El Matador has not yet cracked it is at the top level. In three races at Class 2 — some of the better races in Britain — he has drawn a blank every time. That's not unusual for a 4-year-old still figuring things out, but it does suggest the real tests are still ahead of him. His regular partner Hector Crouch has been in the saddle for five of their outings together, winning once, which tells a similar story: competitive, but not yet consistent.

He is trained by Ralph Beckett at Kimpton in Hampshire, and it's worth noting just how well that yard is firing at the moment — 109 winners already this season is a remarkable number and puts Beckett among the most in-form trainers in the country. A horse with El Matador's profile, trained by someone operating at that level, is in exactly the right hands to keep improving.