Melissa Honey

The real key to Melissa Honey is ground. On fast, dry ground she becomes a different proposition entirely: three wins from seven races on those surfaces means she wins better than two in every five times she runs when conditions suit. Shift her onto wet or muddy ground and she struggles badly. Her trainer Michael Herrington, based near Lincoln, knows this and picks his races accordingly. The yard has had thirty-three winners this season, so Herrington clearly knows what he is doing with his string.

She also has a distance she prefers. Over five to six and a half furlongs — roughly half a mile to three-quarters of a mile — she has won three races from thirteen attempts (23%), her best win rate for any trip. Longer or shorter and the numbers drop away noticeably. At the tougher class of race, she has never managed a win from seven attempts, which tells you she is a specialist at lower levels and does not travel up the grades well. For Melissa Honey, the formula is simple: give her fast ground, aim her at the right distance, keep her in modest class company, and she will deliver often enough to make an afternoon interesting.