Flying Star

The recent form makes for uncomfortable reading. Over the last six races, Flying Star has finished seventh, seventh, fifth, seventh, eighth, and fourth — a sequence that tells a pretty consistent story. The horse is competing at Class 6, the lowest level of British racing, and still can't find a way to the front. Winning 0 from 7 races at that level isn't a sign of being unlucky or slightly below the top — it suggests the horse is genuinely struggling to find its grade. In theory, Class 6 is where a horse like this should have its best chance; in practice, it hasn't worked out that way.

Jockey Gina Mangan has been the regular partner, riding Flying Star five times without a win. That's not a criticism of the rider — the results across all 13 races, with six different riders, tell the same story. Trainer John Berry is based at Newmarket, one of the most competitive training centres in the country, and his yard has sent out 13 winners this season, so he clearly knows how to get a horse ready to win. The question is whether he can find the key to unlocking this one.

What makes Flying Star worth keeping an eye on, oddly enough, is the fact that it raced just yesterday and is clearly in regular work. A horse that keeps competing is a horse whose team hasn't given up on it. Somewhere in those two placed finishes there's a hint that ability exists — the challenge now is finding the right race, the right conditions, or the right moment for it all to come together. It hasn't happened in 13 tries, but racing has produced stranger turnarounds than this.