Fitzmaurice

What makes the situation a little puzzling is the company Fitzmaurice has been keeping. Class 5 is the lower end of the racing ladder, the level where horses are expected to be competitive, yet the record there reads zero wins from four attempts. Racing at that level and still not troubling the judge raises genuine questions about when, or whether, a breakthrough might come.

The one thing working in Fitzmaurice's favour is the yard behind it. Trainer Tony Carroll, based in Cropthorne, Worcestershire, has sent out 136 winners this season alone — that is a yard in serious form, and Carroll clearly knows how to get horses winning. The fact that a trainer of that output has kept Fitzmaurice in training for 13 races suggests there is some belief that a race can be found and won. Whether Fitzmaurice can reward that patience is the question. Having raced just one day ago, the answer may not be far away.