Mickey Cohen

Trained by Noel Meade at Castletown in County Meath—a yard that has sent out 42 winners this season—Mickey shows his best form over the longer distances, two miles and beyond. He has won once from 12 races at that trip, a win rate of roughly 8%, which isn't startling but at least points to a distance where he runs his race. Over shorter distances he has managed places but no wins, which tells you something about his style and constitution. His recent form has been genuinely encouraging: a second place, a win, another second, and three places in his last six runs suggests a horse finding his feet again after that long gap. That second place finish most recently shows he can still get close to the mark.

Neil Ryan, his most regular jockey, hasn't yet experienced the winning feeling aboard him—they have been together seven times without a victory—but Mickey's overall record shows he isn't a lost cause. With only one win from 18 races, he's not the kind of horse who is going to carry big expectations into the paddock, but his consistency at placing—6 places from 18 runs—paints a picture of a honest, genuine campaigner who gives his best. At Downpatrick, where he announced himself as a winner, he clearly suited those conditions and that track. For a horse still hunting for lightning to strike twice, there is at least the knowledge that he has done it once, and his recent form suggests he has the appetite to try again.