Fondo Blanco

What makes him genuinely interesting is his consistency at shorter distances. Over five to six and a half furlongs, Fondo Blanco has won 1 of 4 races — a 25% conversion rate that stands well above his overall average. That's the kind of pattern trainers notice and exploit. His work with jockey Ray Dawson tells a similar story: just one win from five rides together, but that one win came in his most recent Class 2 success, suggesting there's a working relationship worth pursuing when conditions and opposition line up right. Roger Varian's Newmarket yard, which has already sent out 87 winners this season, clearly sees enough in him to keep him racing regularly.

His last six races reveal a horse hovering between placings and mid-field finishes, with that win at Haydock now eleven months in the past. What stands out, though, is that he nearly always runs respectably — six races producing three places and a win suggests he rarely runs badly, just rarely runs brilliantly. That's valuable form if you're looking for a horse that competes at Class 3 level, where he's won 1 of 3 races. Still active after racing just yesterday, Fondo Blanco remains a consistent operator at a solid level of the sport, neither a star in the making nor a horse going backwards.