Mordor

The picture becomes clearer when you look at where Mordor runs best. He loves a standard, normal ground and performs well at distances between a mile and six furlongs and two miles — winning half his races (2 from 4) at that trip. But he has never won in Class 2 company, the upper tier of racing, despite four attempts. This is the real ceiling: Mordor is a horse built for slightly easier races, and when the grade rises, he cannot deliver. He is trained by G Elliott at Longwood, a yard that has already sent out 210 winners this season and clearly knows what it is doing. Sam Ewing, his most frequent jockey, has won twice from six rides in the saddle — a 33% win rate that is noticeably better than the horse's overall record, suggesting there may be something to that partnership worth watching. But with no win in six months and recent form that veers between respectable (the two third-place finishes) and frankly poor, Mordor has drifted into that frustrating zone where he remains capable but no longer looks like the horse that won consistently last year.