Havana Jag

Trained by John Gallagher at Chastleton in Oxfordshire, Havana Jag operates at Class 5 level — the bread-and-butter tier of British racing, where competitive fields are the norm and winning is genuinely hard. Gallagher's yard has sent out 8 winners this season, so the operation clearly knows how to get a horse in the right spot. The question is when Havana Jag's turn will come. All 5 of its races at this level have ended without a win, though the placing record suggests it is not being outclassed — just outrun at the crucial moment.

The recent run of form reads 2-4-4-–-3-5, which translates as two placings bookending a couple of fourth-place finishes and a gap where the horse likely didn't run. That second place is the most interesting number here — it means Havana Jag has gone head-to-head with a winner and come away beaten by the smallest margin. Raced just one day ago, this is a horse in the thick of its season, and with more races likely to come, the breakthrough could be closer than the win column currently suggests.