Hold A Dream

What makes Hold A Dream interesting is the gap between her form at modest tracks and her complete blank at the highest level. In lower-grade races she has managed wins and places; in the top-level races she has contested — six of them — she has not found the winner's spot once. This is not unusual for many horses, but it does mark the ceiling of her ability. Trainer Clive Cox, whose Lambourn yard has already sent out 48 winners this season, has been working her over the winter and reports she is doing well on the gallops. Cox suggested she should build on that Yarmouth win, and there is genuine optimism there, though the months that have elapsed suggest the breakthrough is harder to engineer than it sounds.

The jockey Rossa Ryan has partnered her five times and won once — a 20% win rate that is notably stronger than her overall record. That single success together came at Yarmouth, and the pairing may hold some promise if Hold A Dream can shake off the form slump that has gripped her through these past two years.