Majestic Dane

The worry, though, is the gap. Eight months have passed since his win at Newcastle, and his recent form reads as a tough slog: 12th, then 9th, then 2nd, and most recently 1st—so there's at least one bright spot in the last four outings, but nothing that suggests he has found a comfortable level or a race he particularly suits. He is trained by K. R. Burke at Coverham in North Yorkshire, a yard that has sent out 145 winners this season, so he has experienced handlers behind him. The fact that he raced just one day ago shows the horse is still active and being campaigned, even if the results have not clicked into place since that early-season win. For a 3-year-old, time is on his side—plenty of room still to develop and find the races where he can win again—but the eight-month drought since Newcastle will need to end soon if he is to prove that debut victory was not a one-off.