Poker

The most recent run, a sixth-place finish, is the one blot on an otherwise tidy early record, and it came just yesterday — so this is a horse very much in the middle of its story rather than at the end of it. Two places from three races tells you Poker is finding a level, learning the game, and knocking on the door. The question is whether it can push that nose in front.

What gives genuine reason for optimism is the yard behind it. K R Burke, based at Coverham in North Yorkshire, has sent out 140 winners this season alone — that is a training operation firing on all cylinders, and horses from that stable tend to be placed with care and purpose. When a team like that keeps running a horse, it usually means they believe there is a win in it somewhere.