Launceston

The recent form figures of 4-4-7-9-9-7 are a mixed picture. The back half of that sequence — two nines and a seven — suggested a horse that was struggling badly, but the two fourth-place finishes at the front of it hint that something may have clicked, at least a little. Fourths don't pay out, but they do represent a horse running closer to the action than it had been. Whether that improvement holds is the question every race now poses.

Jockey Luke Morris has had eight chances on Launceston and is still waiting for a win, making them an 0-from-8 partnership. Morris is a capable, experienced rider, so the lack of results is almost certainly not on him — it simply reflects where the horse is at. The yard itself has sent out three winners this season, so it is not as though Ponting cannot get a horse to win; Launceston just hasn't been one of them yet.

The horse typically runs in Class 4 races — a middle tier of competition, not the top level but not the softest entry point either — and has drawn a blank across five attempts at that grade. It raced just one day ago, which means the yard are keeping it busy, presumably trying to find the right conditions for a breakthrough. At 0 wins from 16, the honest assessment is that Launceston has not yet shown it can win a race. But racing is full of horses that took time, and with the recent form trending slightly better, the next few outings will be telling.