Hamadhan

What might offer some encouragement is the consistency of the recent form. Over the last six races, Hamadhan has posted three third-place finishes alongside a pair of fifths and a seventh. There is something steady about that record: the horse is mixing decent efforts with weaker days, which is typical of a horse that has not quite found its level or may yet find a race and a distance that suits it better. The fact that it is still racing actively, still being sent out by trainer Jennie Candlish, suggests the yard believes there is more to come.

Candlish's operation at Basford has been in good form this season, with 64 winners to its name. That kind of success rate across the yard counts for something, though it remains to be seen whether Hamadhan will be among the horses that justify that faith. For now, it remains a horse in search of its first win, still looking for the moment when everything clicks into place.