Kokanee

Dunlop, who trains out of Newmarket and has sent out 39 winners this season alone, clearly rates Kokanee highly — naming him as his personal pick from the yard. The horse is described as a junior version of Superposition, another Dunlop inmate, which is the kind of comparison a trainer tends to make carefully. He is a son of Kameko, built big with large feet and heavy thighs, which is why Dunlop has been explicit that fast, dry ground will not suit him.

The overall record of 2 wins and 4 places from 14 races — winning roughly 1 in every 7 outings — is modest on paper, but the detail is more encouraging than the headline suggests. At a mile and three or four furlongs, his preferred trip, he has won 1 from 4 races, a 25% win rate that is considerably better than his overall figures. His most recent win came at Lingfield Park just four weeks ago, and he raced again only yesterday, so this is a horse in the thick of a busy campaign right now.

One puzzle worth noting: his most regular partner, jockey Hector Crouch, has yet to win in five rides together. That is a blank record across a meaningful number of chances, though it tells us more about circumstance and timing than any lack of ability on the horse's part. Kokanee has clearly found a way to win without that combination clicking — and with Dunlop's yard in strong form and a horse that his trainer believes will keep improving as the season develops, the next win may not be long in coming.