La Tosca

Her recent form makes for interesting reading. The last six runs read 8-2-2-2-4-3, and buried inside that sequence are three consecutive runner-up finishes. Three times in a row she has been beaten into second place. In racing, that is not a sign of a poor horse — it is the calling card of one that keeps showing up to compete at the right level but is yet to find the extra gear when it matters most. The question everyone around her will be asking is whether that moment is coming, or whether she is simply a horse that performs best when the pressure is slightly off.

She is trained by Charlie Johnston at Middleham Moor in North Yorkshire, one of the most productive yards in the country right now. With 131 winners already on the board this season, Johnston's operation is firing on all cylinders, and that context matters. A horse trained here is not short of professional attention or quality company in the mornings. If La Tosca has a win in her, she is in the right place to find it. She raced just one day ago, so whatever comes next is likely not far off, and given the recent consistency of those placed efforts, it would be no surprise to see her go close again very soon.