Maskarvel

Trainer Alastair Ralph, who operates out of Bridgnorth in Shropshire and has sent out 25 winners already this season, is clearly not losing faith. He took the horse on after it had built up some solid form in Ireland, and after a fifth-place finish at Kempton on Boxing Day — where Ralph felt things moved a little too fast for him — there is a feeling that Maskarvel simply hasn't been seen in the right conditions yet. Ralph believes the horse wants better ground than the wet, wintertime tracks it has been running on, and speaks about it having a "big engine," which is trainer-speak for a horse with genuine ability that hasn't quite found its moment.

Races 1 day ago as of writing, Maskarvel is very much an active project. The pattern of his recent form — second, third, second, fifth, second — suggests a horse that competes honestly and finds its level without quite reaching the top of it. The frustrating thing, from a racing perspective, is that places don't pay like wins do, and a horse can spend an entire career being nearly good enough. Whether Maskarvel can finally get his head in front on a faster, firmer surface remains the central question around him — but Ralph sounds genuinely enthused, and yards that send out 25 winners in a season tend to know which horses are worth keeping faith with.