Painted Wolf

The recent form makes for difficult reading. The last five outings read 2, blank, 5, blank, 9 — that middle-to-back-of-the-field pattern, with a couple of blank runs mixed in, does not paint a picture of a horse building toward something. The one second-place finish is the solitary bright spot on an otherwise frustrating record.

Painted Wolf competes at Class 4 level, which sits in the middle tier of British racing — not the glamour end of the sport, but competitive enough that you need to be a capable horse to win. So far, three attempts at that level have produced nothing. Trainer Ben Case operates out of Edgcote in Northamptonshire, and the yard has sent out nine winners this season, so the horses around Painted Wolf are clearly capable of winning races. That makes the lack of a breakthrough all the more puzzling. Last seen on the track just sixteen days ago, this is at least an active campaign — the team clearly believes there is a race to be won somewhere.