Naval Ensign

What's interesting about Naval Ensign is that the horse clearly has a distance sweet spot. At races between 7 furlongs and a mile, the horse has won 1 of 7 races, roughly a 14% win rate — significantly better than the overall average. That single victory came over seven furlongs at Lingfield, which suggests the horse runs best when given that sort of middle-distance trip. At Class 6 level — the bottom tier of British racing — Naval Ensign has also shown decent form, winning 1 of 9 races (11%), implying the horse is competitive at this grade even if results have dried up badly of late.

Recent form has been discouraging. In the last six races, Naval Ensign's finishes read 9-6-4-8-5-1, with the most recent outing just yesterday. That is mostly out of the places, and only two of those six runs produced a top-five finish. Trainer Nikki Evans, based at Pandy in Monmouths, has a small string and has sent out just two winners this season, which suggests the yard is not firing on all cylinders either. Naval Ensign is still actively racing, but until the horse either rediscovers form at Lingfield or finds a race where seven furlongs suits better, it will remain hard to fancy.