Forest Spirit

That fourth place came just yesterday, so Forest Spirit is very much active and in the thick of its season. Mickey Bowen, who trains out of Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, has had a productive campaign — 47 winners sent out this season is a serious tally for any yard, and suggests this is a team that knows how to get horses race-ready. Whether Forest Spirit can be one of those winners again is the question worth asking.

The clues are there if you look at the right numbers. On normal ground conditions, Forest Spirit has won 2 of its 6 races — that is 1 in every 3, which is an excellent ratio and miles better than its overall record suggests. Similarly, at distances between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, it has again won 2 from 6. Those two filters overlap almost perfectly with both career victories — at Southwell in mid-March and Wolverhampton just three days later — which means when conditions suit, this horse can be genuinely competitive.

The puzzle is its record at Class 5 level, which is the grade it most often runs in. Zero wins from seven races at that level is a strange anomaly for a horse that has clearly won races somewhere. It hints at a horse that perhaps finds its best form when lightly campaigned or when dropped into a slightly different context. Catch Forest Spirit on the right ground, at the right distance, and on a good day — and there is a winner in there somewhere. The trick, as always, is knowing when that day has arrived.