Liverpool Star

That Ripon victory is the high point of a career that has otherwise been defined more by promise than payoff. Liverpool Star has raced most often at Class 5 level — the bread-and-butter tier of British racing, where most horses spend the bulk of their careers — and has yet to win at that level in three attempts. That might sound like a puzzle, but it simply tells you the horse is competitive without quite having the finishing kick to get its nose in front when it matters most.

Behind the scenes, Liverpool Star is trained by Michael and David Easterby at their yard in Sheriff Hutton, North Yorkshire — a father-and-son operation that has sent out 55 winners already this season, which tells you this is a busy, well-run stable that knows how to get horses ready to run. In the saddle, Billy Garritty has been the regular partner, riding Liverpool Star in 5 of its 14 races and picking up that one win together. That gives them a win rate of 1 in 5 races as a partnership, which is actually a decent return — better than the horse's overall record suggests.

Liverpool Star raced just yesterday, so this is a horse right in the thick of its season. At three years old, it is still learning and still developing, and yards like the Easterbys' often find that some horses simply click into gear as the season goes on. The form figures — 4, a non-runner, 4, then that win, then a third, then a fourth — suggest a horse trending in the right direction before things levelled off. Whether another win is around the corner is the interesting question, and given the frequency with which Liverpool Star turns up at the races, it probably will not be long before we find out.