Lion of Alba

The real story is his form over his optimum distance. At somewhere between seven furlongs and a mile, Lion of Alba wins roughly one in every three races—he has taken one from three at that distance. That is a striking record compared to his overall figures of one win from seven races. Everything suggests he has been learning on the job, and that distance suits him. His most recent form has been mixed but not discouraging. He was fourth a few runs back, third most recently, and seventh and seventh before that. These are not the marks of a horse losing ability; they look more like the scattered form you see when a three-year-old is still finding his feet in the right races at the right distances. The fact that he raced just a day ago shows he remains very much active and in work, which means Palmer's yard continues to believe there is more to come.