Penny Mountain

Her recent form — finishing fifth, fifth, third, third, sixth, and fifth in her last six outings — paints a picture of a horse that's almost always thereabouts without quite getting over the line. The thirds are encouraging; the pair of fifths bracketing them less so. She raced just yesterday, so she's clearly a busy, active horse whose trainer Gary Rutherford, based in Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders, is happy to keep ticking over. Rutherford's yard has sent out seven winners this season, so there's form on the board — just not much of it belonging to Penny Mountain lately.

The jockey partnership worth noting is with Amie Waugh, who has ridden her six times without a win between them. That's not necessarily a criticism of either — plenty of good combinations go winless for a stretch — but it does underline that this horse hasn't found a formula that works consistently. Her best results come over shorter distances, between five and six and a half furlongs, where she's won 1 from 14 races, a win rate of around 7%. And at Class 6, the lowest tier of British racing, she's actually won 1 from 8 races — roughly 1 in every 8 — which is her strongest return anywhere. That's where she belongs for now, and where any future optimism should probably be focused.

She's not a horse that's going to light up a big occasion, but Penny Mountain is a regular, reliable competitor who turns up and gives an honest account of herself. Sometimes that's exactly what a small yard needs.