Lord of The Glance

His recent form tells the story of a battler. In his last six races, he has finished in the top three four times—twice second, twice third, and one non-run sandwiched between a win in his most recent outing. That final victory came just over a week ago, his second top-3 finish in as many races. Trainer Alex Hales, based at Edgcote in Oxfordshire, has saddled the horse for all his runs and runs a competitive yard that has already sent out twelve winners this season. Hales has clearly found something worth persisting with.

The challenge for Lord of The Glance has been his struggles at Class 5—the kind of race where owners and trainers hope a horse might finally break through. He has run in four such races without a win, which makes his sole victory at Stratford feel all the more precious: it came at a lower level, a genuine moment of success for a horse that has otherwise spent his career finishing just off the money. At seven, time is not unlimited, but recent form suggests his team still believes he has something left to offer. Still active after racing just yesterday, he remains a work in progress.