Nutcracker

The recent form makes for genuinely encouraging reading. Going back through the last six races — second, first, second, third, third, and a seventh before that — Nutcracker has been a model of consistency, finishing in the top three in five of those six outings. That is the form of a horse coming into its best, not one stumbling towards retirement. The win at Wolverhampton clearly did not come out of nowhere.

Tony Carroll trains the yard from its base in Cropthorne, Worcestershire, and it has been a busy season — 136 winners already, which puts it firmly among the more productive operations in the country. With that kind of output, Carroll knows how to place a horse in the right race at the right time, and the Wolverhampton win suggests Nutcracker is finally being found out properly. The preferred distance of one mile and one furlong to one mile and two furlongs is where the horse is at its sharpest, with that sole career win coming over this sort of trip. Eight races at the distance, one win — but the pieces are starting to fit.

William Carson has been the regular partner, riding together six times without a win between them. That is a collaboration still searching for its moment, though given what Wolverhampton showed last week, the wait may not be as long as the record currently suggests. Nutcracker raced again just yesterday, keeping up the busy schedule that has defined this season. A horse this active, this close to winning form, and trained by a yard firing on all cylinders is one worth keeping an eye on.