Frankali

The recent form makes for fairly grim reading. Looking at the last six races, the finishing positions read 3-10-8-10-7-10, which means that third place a few runs back stands out like a beacon amid a run of double-digit finishes. It raced just yesterday, so whatever happened is still fresh — but the pattern of late suggests a horse that is struggling to find its best. At Class 6, which is the entry level of British racing, Frankali has managed zero wins from three attempts. That is the level where horses tend to find it easiest to win, so the blank record there is a genuine concern.

The one genuinely interesting thread here is the yard it comes from. Trainer Ollie Sangster, based in Marlborough, Wiltshire, has sent out 46 winners already this season — that is a productive operation by any measure, and not a stable that tends to run horses without purpose. The fact that Sangster keeps running Frankali suggests someone at the yard still believes there is a win in the horse somewhere. Whether that faith is well placed is, at this point, an open question.