Midnight's Dream

What makes that particularly frustrating is where those blanks are coming from. Midnight's Dream races most often at Class 4 level, which sits in the middle of the British racing pyramid — not the glamour events at the top, but competitive enough that you need to be in decent form to feature. In 11 races at that level, it has not won once. Seven places from 21 career races suggests it gets into contention often enough, but converting that into a victory has proved elusive.

The partnership with jockey Jack Mitchell is the most-used combination in Midnight's Dream's career, and the numbers are modest: 1 win from 8 races together, a win rate of around 1 in every 8. That single success is the Leicester win from April, which at least shows the partnership can deliver — just not with any regularity. Trainer Joseph Parr operates out of Newmarket, one of British racing's most famous training centres, and his yard has sent out 6 winners this season, so the operation is ticking over. Whether Midnight's Dream can contribute another one remains the open question.

At five years old, the horse is not young, and with the last win now standing at 12 months ago and the recent form readings heading in the wrong direction, the pressure is on. Raced just one day ago, Midnight's Dream is clearly kept busy, and an active campaign at least keeps the opportunities coming. But right now, this is a horse searching for a performance to match the promise of those two wins — and for anyone following its fortunes, the wait is starting to feel like a long one.