Maestrow

At four years old, Maestrow is not ancient, but time is not entirely on its side either. With nothing from six attempts, the pressure is on to show something — anything — before patience at the yard starts to wear thin. It raced just yesterday, which at least signals the team still believes there is a race to be won somewhere down the line.

The one genuinely interesting detail here is who is doing the training. Ben Pauling's operation in Naunton, Gloucestershire, has sent out 91 winners this season alone — that is a yard firing on all cylinders, and clearly capable of getting results. When a trainer of that quality keeps running a horse, it usually means they can see something the form book cannot yet prove. Whether Maestrow ever justifies that faith remains very much an open question.