Highland Olly

Put him on normal, standard ground and his win rate climbs to 1 in 3 races — he has won 5 times from 15 outings on that surface. Stretch him out to distances between a mile and a furlong and a mile and two furlongs, and the pattern repeats: 3 wins from 9 races. Those are the conditions where Highland Olly genuinely competes. He is also a course specialist at Musselburgh, where he has won 2 of his 5 races there, and his most recent victory came just eight weeks ago at Beverley on 4 July, suggesting he remains capable of winning races. His form sheet does contain some rough patches — his last six outings read as a third, fifth, seventh, win, second and fourth — but he bounced back to beat 2 others when he got his chance.

Trainer Grant Tuer, who runs the Birkby yard in North Yorkshire, has backed Highland Olly with consistency. After his recent win at Musselburgh, Tuer noted that the high draw — which might have unsettled a horse that dislikes being crowded — actually proved beneficial and allowed him to settle wider and race on his own terms. The trainer felt Highland Olly put in a career-best effort and ran through the line with real determination, hinting that further improvement is possible if the handicapper's weight adjustment allows it. Jockey Harrison Shaw, his most regular partner, has ridden him 15 times and won 3 of those races, a 20 per cent win rate that slightly edges his overall record. With the right set of circumstances — normal ground, a trip around the mile mark, and a track where he has learned to settle — Highland Olly has proved he belongs in winning races.