Jafimgoso

What stands out is his partnership with Harry Skelton. The jockey has ridden him eight times and won twice — double his overall career win rate. This is the kind of detail that catches a trainer's eye; when one rider clicks with a horse, it matters. Skelton's yard has sent out 198 winners this season, so the infrastructure is there to get the best from their runners.

The stumbling block is Class 4 racing, where he has failed to win in six attempts. This suggests his ceiling may be lower, and that his wins have come in more modest company. His recent form reads 4-4-2-1-7-9 across his last six races, which shows flickers of promise — a second and a fourth place among some harder finishes — but nothing like a winning run. According to his trainer, he won a bumper in the spring but things haven't gone to plan since. An incident at Ludlow left him knocked over in a melee, though he came away sound. The plan is to campaign him in novice hurdles going forward, which suggests the yard sees potential if they can find the right race.

At seven years old and with just two career wins, Jafimgoso is a work in progress. He is not a horse likely to trouble the big races, but he has shown enough on normal ground and with the right rider to justify another chance. Whether that comes good is another matter entirely.