Fenlander

What makes that win particularly satisfying is the context. Fenlander had run seven times at his usual level without winning a single one. Zero from seven. That is the kind of record that tests everyone's patience, and yet the placed finishes kept coming — nine of them across his career — suggesting he was genuinely competitive without quite being able to get his head in front. When he finally did it at Leicester, it was his first career win and it came at the age of five, so this is a horse whose the yard have had to be patient.

The trainer behind it is Pam Sly, who operates out of Thorney in Cambridgeshire. It is a small, quiet yard by the standards of the sport, but it has sent out seven winners already this season, which tells you Sly knows how to place a horse and pick her moments. Getting a horse like Fenlander — one who had gone so long without winning — over the line is exactly the kind of result a smaller yard takes real satisfaction from.

At five years old and with that win now on the board, the interesting question is whether Leicester simply suits him, or whether this is the beginning of a more confident horse. His recent form — consistently finishing in the top three — suggests there may be more to come. He is not a horse who is going to trouble the very best in Britain, but he is competitive, he is consistent, and he has just proven he can win. For a horse who spent so long finishing second and third, that matters more than any statistic.