Point of Contact

The horse shows a clear preference for normal ground conditions, where he has won two of seven races (29%), a considerably higher rate than his career average suggests he's capable of. Over distances between a mile and a furlong and a mile and two furlongs, Point of Contact has won twice from eight races (25%), indicating he is at his best when given a bit of room to stretch and settle into his stride. The troubling note comes when he steps up to Class 2 company — the top tier of racing — where he has failed to win in three attempts. He appears to be pitched at the right level in the races he does win, and those occasional placings keep him ticking over, but there is a gap between his current form and the very best races.

Balding's yard has been in prolific form this season with 202 winners, so Point of Contact is trained in an environment where winners are being produced regularly. The gap of three months since his last victory is notable for an actively campaigned four-year-old, and with a win rate of just 15 per cent across his career, consistency rather than dominance has been his pattern. He was active just a day ago, which suggests the yard are still searching for a race where the conditions — ground, distance, and opposition level — align properly for another win.