Francisco's Piece

What makes the picture a little more complicated is where Francisco's Piece has been asked to compete. Six of its races have come at Class 2 level — some of the better races you will find in Britain — and it has not won any of them, which is 0 from 6. That is a tough ask for any horse sitting on a 7% career win rate, and it may simply be that the horse has been pitched into company a step above where it is most comfortable. That one Pontefract win came somewhere it could dominate on the day, and finding that sweet spot again has proved elusive.

The horse is trained by Adrian Paul Keatley, whose yard in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, has sent out 42 winners already this season — so there is clearly no shortage of ability in the stable. Francisco's Piece raced just yesterday, which means it is very much in active training and presumably being kept busy in the hope that form clicks back into place. Whether another chance at a softer level of competition might unlock something is the interesting question. Two years is a long wait for a second win, but yards like Keatley's do not keep running horses without a reason to believe.