Lady Delila

Her recent form tells a story of inconsistency. Looking at her last six races in reverse order, she has finished third, third, second, ninth, fifth, and eighth — so there are flashes of promise in there, particularly that runner-up finish, but they sit alongside some disappointing efforts too. She has not won in any of her last six races, and her career record of zero wins from 20 attempts makes for sobering reading however you frame it.

She competes almost exclusively at Class 6, which is the lowest tier of British racing — the entry-level end of the sport where horses who struggle to win elsewhere come to find their level. Even there, she has drawn a blank in all four of her races at that grade, which suggests the winning moment remains elusive regardless of the company she is asked to beat.

Jockey Donagh O'Connor has partnered her five times without getting his hands on a winner, and trainer Patrick Morris, based in Prescott on Merseyside, has had a solid season overall — 18 winners sent out from his yard this term — which makes Lady Delila something of an outlier in what is otherwise a productive operation. She raced just one day ago, so she is clearly fit and active, and Morris shows no sign of stepping back from the challenge of finding the right opportunity for her.

Twenty races is a long road to travel without a victory. For context, a horse winning even one race in every ten would be considered a respectable performer at this level, so Lady Delila's blank record is a genuine puzzle given how regularly she runs. Still, that second-place finish is proof she can get close — and in racing, close is sometimes all you need to justify one more try.