Mavetheforcebewivu

Trained by Alan Brown at Yedingham in North Yorkshire, she came to the yard in unusual circumstances: the owners had her in a field just down the road, and she arrived small and unproven. Brown spoke warmly about her early progress, noting she had done nothing wrong in training and had improved after each gallop. That is the kind of quiet confidence a trainer rarely throws around carelessly, and it suggested a horse who was developing gradually rather than one simply going through the motions. Brown's yard has sent out nine winners this season, so there is form on the board — they know how to get a horse ready.

The honest truth, though, is that she is a four-year-old yet to win a race, competing at the lowest level of the sport, and the record is what it is. Racing at Class 6 means the competition is as accessible as it gets — these are not star-studded fields. Zero wins from 15 races, with most of her recent efforts in the bottom half of the field, makes it hard to build a case for an imminent breakthrough. What she has going for her is that she is still active and still being entered, which means the team around her clearly hasn't given up. Sometimes a horse simply needs the right conditions, the right day. She hasn't found hers yet.