Pioneer Pete

He is trained by the father-and-son team of Jonjo and A.J. O'Neill, based near Cheltenham, and they are having a fine season — 51 winners already this campaign, which tells you this is a yard firing on all cylinders. The horse's regular partner in the saddle is Jonjo O'Neill Jr., who has ridden him in 5 of his 9 races and won once together, a 20% win rate that mirrors the horse's overall record fairly neatly.

His recent form is the really interesting part. Looking at his last six races — most recent first — he has gone 1-2-1-3-4-2. Two wins, two seconds, a third and a fourth. No disasters, no signs of a horse losing interest or running below himself. He broke his career duck at Wetherby back in March, then followed it up with a win at Worcester just this week — so he is absolutely in the form of his life right now, having raced just yesterday.

There is a small puzzle in the numbers, though. In three races at Class 4 — which is the mid-tier level in Britain — he has yet to win. Both of his victories have come elsewhere, suggesting he may actually be better than that level and has been slightly unlucky when stepping up. The trainer has hinted at something similar, noting that the horse has twice run into genuinely decent rivals, finishing second behind horses described as "fair" and "nice" — racing shorthand for horses well above average. On both occasions, Pioneer Pete kept pace and ran solid races rather than being blown away.

There is also a suggestion from the trainer that a longer trip — two and a half miles or more — might eventually unlock a bit more from him. For now, though, a horse who is winning races this week and barely puts in a bad run looks like one to follow closely.