Muhib

The recent form actually looks respectable on paper — second, third, third, fourth, fourth, third across the last six runs — and Muhib raced just yesterday, so this is very much a horse in active campaigning. But those numbers also confirm that a win has not come in any of those six outings, and the pattern is one of a horse that runs its race, finishes thereabouts, and goes home empty-handed. Close, but never quite.

Jockey Cian Horgan has been the regular partner, riding Muhib six times together without a win to show for it. That is not necessarily a criticism of either horse or rider — some combinations simply never find the moment — but it does underline how stubborn this duck has been to break. Trainer Olly Williams, based in Market Rasen in Lincolnshire, has sent out just one winner so far this season, so the yard is not exactly firing on all cylinders at the moment, which adds another layer of difficulty to Muhib's prospects.

Most of Muhib's racing has come at Class 6, which is the entry-level end of British racing — the races where horses are supposed to find things easiest. Twelve races at that level, zero wins. For a horse that clearly has enough ability to place regularly, the failure to convert at the most accessible level is the most puzzling part of the whole profile. Muhib is not short of effort or opportunity. What remains missing, for now, is that one race where everything clicks at exactly the right moment.