Heffalump

What is worth noting is the team behind it. Donald McCain is a serious operator based at Cholmondeley in Cheshire, and his yard has sent out 51 winners already this season — that is a yard in form, not one that sends horses out just to fill a field. McCain comes from one of jump racing's most famous families, and he has built a strong training operation in his own right. When a horse from that yard comes back after a three-month break, as Heffalump does now, there is at least reason to think it will have been prepared properly for whatever comes next.

The three-month absence is the other thing to keep an eye on. Horses return from breaks for all sorts of reasons — a minor setback, a planned rest, waiting for the right race. We do not know which applies here. But the fact that Heffalump is coming back at all suggests the team still believe there is something worth running for.