Peregrine Falcon

The recent form makes for familiar reading. In its last six races, Peregrine Falcon has finished third, fifth, third, second, sixth, and third — a sequence that almost has a rhythm to it. That second place is the closest it has come, and the fact it was raced just one day ago shows the team are keeping it busy, presumably trying to find the right opportunity for a breakthrough.

Jockey Billy Loughnane has partnered Peregrine Falcon five times without a win between them, which is a frustrating record for both horse and rider. Loughnane is not the problem here — he is one of the more promising young jockeys around — but five attempts together producing nothing suggests the horse's issue is its own rather than anything to do with who is sitting on it.

Trainer Patrick Morris, based in Prescott, Merseyside, has had 18 winners this season, so the yard clearly knows how to get horses over the line. Peregrine Falcon is the awkward exception. It has run eight times at Class 5 level — the most accessible tier of British racing — and has not won any of them. Class 5 is where horses compete if they are at the lower end of the ability scale, so failing to win at this level over eight attempts does raise questions about whether a win is coming at all.

Still, the places keep coming. Nine finishes in the top three or four from 16 races is not nothing — it means Peregrine Falcon is rarely embarrassing itself, just perpetually falling short. For anyone who has watched a friend get to the final interview and not get the job, repeatedly, this horse will feel very familiar. The talent is there in glimpses. The breakthrough just keeps not arriving.