My Old Mate

What makes the situation worth watching is who is doing the training. Gary and Josh Moore operate out of Lower Beeding in West Sussex, and this season alone their yard has sent out 99 winners. That is a remarkable level of output — nearly 100 horses getting the job done — which tells you this is a team that clearly knows how to get a horse ready to win. The fact that My Old Mate has not yet figured it out is not necessarily a reflection on the stable; young horses develop at different speeds, and a yard this productive does not panic over a slow starter.

The question now is whether the penny eventually drops. My Old Mate raced just one day ago, so this is a horse still very much in the thick of its career, with time on its side. Three-year-olds can improve sharply and suddenly. For now, though, it is a horse that needs to find a gear it has not yet shown.