Goliath

The six-year-old is trained in France by F-H Graffard, a yard that has sent out 6 winners already this season. From 5 races in total, Goliath has won 1 and placed 3 times — that's a 20% win rate, or roughly 1 in every 5 races, which is a solid return. But the raw numbers only tell part of the story. Three of those five runs have ended in a top-three finish, which suggests a horse that is consistently competitive without always getting his nose in front.

His recent form reads 3-–-9-1-2, and that middle gap indicates a break in racing at some point. The 1 in that sequence is the Ascot win, and the 2 either side of it shows a horse performing at a high level. He raced just one day ago, so he is very much in active training and his the yard are clearly keeping him busy at the top level.

The one slight question mark is that the Ascot win now sits 23 months in the past. For a horse of this quality, that's a long time between victories, and the challenge now is whether he can rediscover that winning feeling. He's been close — placing in three of his five career races — but turning those placings into wins is what separates a good horse from a great one. With a French yard behind him that clearly knows how to find the winner's enclosure this season, the ingredients are there for Goliath to remind everyone what he's capable of.