Lion Of The Desert

Both of those wins have come in the last six weeks — first on 21 April, then again on 5 May — and both on normal ground, where Lion Of The Desert has now won 2 of its 6 races, a rate of 1 in 3. That is a meaningful number. It tells you this horse is not just picking up fortunate results but is genuinely performing when the conditions suit. It raced just yesterday, so it is firmly in the middle of an active campaign, and the recent form makes encouraging reading: two wins and two third-place finishes in the last four outings.

One thing worth watching is the grade of race Lion Of The Desert has been running in. Its four appearances at Class 5 — the lower end of the ladder — have produced zero wins. The two victories have come when the conditions and the course aligned just right, not necessarily against the strongest fields. Stepping up in class would be the real test of whether this is a track specialist with a ceiling or something more.

Trainer Grace Harris, based in Shirenewton in Gwent, has had a productive season with 31 winners from the yard so far. Regular jockey Joe Anderson has partnered Lion Of The Desert five times, winning once — a rate of roughly 1 in 5 — and the pair were together for at least one of those Ffos Las victories. Harris training out of Wales and targeting Ffos Las regularly makes obvious sense, and the results suggest she has found the right formula for this horse: right track, right ground, keep it ticking over. Whether there is more to come depends on what Lion Of The Desert does when it steps outside its comfort zone.