Moonjid

The recent form figures tell a story of a horse hovering just outside the places — runs of 8th and 4th sandwiched around a couple of fifth-place finishes before a third last time out suggests he is edging back towards his better self. He raced just yesterday, which means he is firmly in the middle of an active campaign rather than being freshened up for a big target.

At the level where Moonjid competes most often — Class 5, which is roughly mid-table in British racing's six-tier system — he has won 1 from 6 races, a win rate of around 17%, or just under 1 in 6. That is actually a more encouraging number than his overall record implies, and it suggests he is finding the right level when the yard pitch him there correctly. The trainer responsible for those decisions is Michael Appleby, based at Oakham in Rutland, and his yard has been in excellent form this season with 79 winners already on the board — a serious total that marks Appleby out as one of the more productive trainers in the country. When a horse is trained by someone firing at that volume, it tends to mean race entries are well-judged and opportunities are picked carefully.

Moonjid is not a headline act, but at four years old he is still at an age where horses can develop and find their rhythm. The Nottingham win proved he can get his head in front, and the task now is finding out whether that was a one-off or the first sign of a horse working out how to win.