French Duke

The problem is that best day was almost two years ago. His recent form reads 11-6-3-10-8 across his last five completed races, with a blank thrown in — nothing close to a win. He has gone six races without getting back to the top, which raises the obvious question: was Goodwood a peak he has yet to recapture, or is there another big performance still in him?

What does stand out is how consistently he lines up in decent races. Five of his six Class 2 appearances have come up short, but the fact the team at Hamad Al Jehani's Newmarket yard keeps pitching him at that level tells you something — they believe he is capable of competing there. Al Jehani's yard has sent out 18 winners this season, so this is not a stable short on confidence or form.

His best performances tend to come at distances between a mile and three furlongs and a mile and four furlongs. Seven races at that trip have produced his one career win, a rate of 1 in 7, and it is clearly the sweet spot where his stamina comes into play. James Doyle, who has ridden him in half his career races, has been aboard for that win and knows the horse as well as anyone — winning 1 from 6 rides together, around 1 in every 6, is a modest return but reflects the horse's overall record rather than any failing on the jockey's part.

French Duke raced just yesterday, so he is clearly fit and active. Whether he can find another Goodwood moment is the question hanging over everything. He has shown he can do it at the top level once. The waiting game for the second time is now almost two years long.