Firstupbestdressed

The recent form makes for difficult reading. Looking at the last six races, the closest it has come to troubling the leaders was a fifth-place finish, and a run of 14th last time out suggests things are going in the wrong direction rather than building toward a breakthrough. Jockey Kieren Buckley has stuck with the horse through five of those attempts together, but the partnership is yet to get off the mark — five rides, zero wins, and nothing in the way of placed efforts to suggest a change of fortune is imminent.

At six years old, Firstupbestdressed is no youngster still finding its feet. Horses of this age are generally expected to have some idea of what racing is about, which makes the continued absence of any reward — even a placed finish — genuinely puzzling. Whether the right race or the right conditions simply haven't come along yet is a question the team will be asking themselves. What is clear is that whoever saddles this horse tomorrow is betting on patience rather than recent evidence.