Havana Rum

Trained by the father-and-son operation of Richard and Peter Fahey at Musley Bank in North Yorkshire — a yard that has sent out 9 winners already this season — Havana Rum has found its natural home in Class 4 races, which represent a solid but competitive middle tier of the sport. It has won 3 of its 15 races at that level, a win rate of roughly 1 in 5, which is genuinely good going. That is where the horse is at its most dangerous: reliable enough company for it to be competitive, without being outclassed.

The most striking number in the record is the course form at Ripon, a tight, quirky track in the Yorkshire countryside. Two wins from just 3 races there is the kind of statistic that makes experienced racegoers sit up. Some horses just take to certain venues — the turns, the camber, the ground — and Ripon clearly suits Havana Rum down to the ground. If it ever turns up there again, it is worth paying attention.

Regular partner Oisin Orr has been in the saddle for 17 of those 46 races, winning 2 of them together — roughly 1 in every 8 rides. That is a partnership with a track record, even if the wins have not always come along in a rush. The two clearly know each other's rhythms by now.

The recent form makes for encouraging reading. After a quiet middle stretch, Havana Rum won at Chelmsford just six months ago and has since posted two places from its last five outings, including a second-place finish in its penultimate run. With a race just yesterday, this is a horse very much in the thick of things — active, experienced, and still capable of turning up and taking the money when conditions click into place.