Northern Rose

The recent form tells a similar story. In its last six races, Northern Rose has finished second twice, third once, and ninth and eighth on the other two occasions — so it mixes moments of real promise with the occasional flat run. It raced just yesterday, which means it is very much an active part of Gary Hanmer's string right now. Hanmer trains out of Tattenhall in Cheshire and has had a productive season, sending out 19 winners. That is a yard with plenty going on, and Northern Rose is a regular contributor to its workload even if the winner's enclosure has remained out of reach.

Jack Hogan has been in the saddle for 11 of those 33 races and is yet to ride Northern Rose to a win — 0 from 11 together. That is not necessarily a reflection on either horse or jockey; sometimes a partnership just keeps running into better horses on the day. Northern Rose typically competes at Class 5, which is the bread-and-butter level of British racing, and has been held scoreless across all 21 races at that level. Given that Class 5 is where horses are supposed to find their level and start winning, the blank record there is the most telling number of all.

What you are left with is a horse that earns places, earns effort, and earns its keep at a working yard — but one that racing has never quite rewarded with a win. Whether that changes soon is the question Hanmer and his team are clearly still asking, given that Northern Rose was out on the track as recently as yesterday.