Imperial Pride

The recent form tells a mixed story. A second place in one of its last six races shows there is ability in there somewhere — Imperial Pride has not been disgraced, and six career placed finishes suggest it can get competitive. But placed is not winning, and a seventh-place finish most recently is not the kind of form that builds momentum. The horse raced just one day ago, so it is very much an active competitor, still being put out there by David Dennis's yard in Edgcote, Oxfordshire — a stable that has found the winner's enclosure seven times this season, just not with this particular horse.

Tom Bellamy has been the regular jockey, taking the ride in 10 of Imperial Pride's 15 races. That partnership has yet to click in the way both would want — zero wins from those 10 races together. That said, Bellamy is clearly trusted by the yard to keep the booking, which suggests there is belief that the right day could still come.

Most of Imperial Pride's racing has come at Class 5 level, which is the entry-level tier of British racing — the kind of races designed to give horses like this a realistic chance of winning. Eleven races at that level and still no win is a tough record to look past. It means that even in the most accessible races on offer, Imperial Pride has not been able to get its nose in front. At this stage of a career, that pattern is hard to reverse — but the fact the horse is still racing and still placing occasionally means the yard have not given up on finding that elusive first victory.