Mist Of Time

What keeps the picture interesting is who is doing the training. William Knight operates out of Newmarket — the spiritual home of British flat racing — and his yard has sent out 27 winners already this season. That is a healthy haul, which tells you this is a competent, well-run operation that knows how to get horses ready to win. The fact that Mist Of Time has raced three times without threatening a result suggests the horse simply hasn't found its feet yet, rather than any failure on the yard's part.

The five-month break is the most significant detail here. Horses that young are still developing physically, and a long rest at this stage can sometimes mean a yard has spotted something — a need to strengthen up, to mature, or simply to reset after a difficult start. Whether Mist Of Time returns a different proposition is the question worth watching. Form this early in a two-year-old's career is often the least reliable guide there is.