Flying Pimpernel

The five-year-old has yet to win from seven attempts, picking up two placed finishes along the way, and her recent run of form — finishing seventh, sixth, fourth, fourth, third, and eighth across her last six outings — paints the picture of a horse that competes honestly without quite getting there. Jockey Gavin Sheehan has been in the saddle for six of those races and hasn't managed to get her head in front either. That's a lot of near-misses for a partnership that hasn't clicked yet.

What makes Flying Pimpernel's situation interesting, though, is context. Trainer Jamie Snowden has been candid about her needs: she showed enough promise on debut — finishing second — to suggest she has ability, but she's been running on ground that simply doesn't suit her. Snowden believes she wants it wet and testing underfoot, and too many of her races have come on conditions that work against her. Running a horse on the wrong ground is a bit like asking someone to sprint in the wrong shoes — they might still finish, but you're never seeing their best. The spring campaign was arguably a square peg in a round hole situation.

The plan now is to keep her in the same level of races this season and wait for the winter weather to arrive. Snowden's yard at Lambourn has sent out 82 winners this season — that's a stable in serious form, and they don't run horses without purpose. When a trainer of that calibre says a horse wants softer conditions and commits to finding them, it's worth paying attention.

Flying Pimpernel raced just yesterday, so she's bang in season and clearly fit. The winless record is hard to ignore, but a second on debut told the yard there's something here worth nurturing. If the rain comes and the ground turns soft, this is precisely the kind of horse that could surprise people who've written her off too soon.