Littletown Lad

What makes this interesting, though, is what Sam England sees in him. The Guiseley-based trainer — who has sent out 49 winners already this season, so clearly knows how to get horses to perform — is candid about where Littletown Lad is at. The horse is headstrong. He hasn't learned to settle and race within himself yet, and until he does, those results are likely to stay modest. But England believes the ability is in there somewhere, waiting to come out once the penny drops.

The move into hurdle racing looks like the plan designed to unlock that potential. Horses who are too wound up and free-running sometimes find that jumping gives them something to think about mid-race, which can naturally settle them down. It's not a guaranteed fix, but it's a logical one. England runs a yard clearly capable of producing winners at a decent clip, and the fact that he's persisting with Littletown Lad suggests he hasn't given up on him. Sometimes the most interesting horses to follow are the ones who haven't shown you anything yet — but whose trainer still believes there's a race to be won.