Neapolitan

The recent runs offer little hope. Over the last six races, Neapolitan has finished 5th, 7th, 7th, 6th, 11th, and 13th, a stretch that confirms it is struggling to find form. At middle distances between five and six and a half furlongs, the horse has managed 1 win from 11 races—a 9% win rate—which is marginally better than its overall record but still tells the story of a horse at the limit of its capabilities. Regular jockey Harry Davies has ridden Neapolitan five times without a win, which hasn't helped matters.

Antony Brittain's yard at Warthill in North Yorkshire has been in good form this season, with 23 winners to their credit, but Neapolitan hasn't been part of that success. Most of the horse's racing comes at Class 4 level, where it has won 1 from 11 races—again, that 9% rate. It is still finding races to run in and still being given opportunities, but after such a long drought since that single Kempton victory, one senses Neapolitan is a horse trying hard simply to do what it used to manage once in a while.