Polly Poppins

What makes the recent form mildly encouraging, though, is the direction of travel. After finishing ninth and eighth in two of her last four races, she has back-to-back top-five finishes, including a third place, and ran as recently as yesterday. Horses that race this frequently at least suggest a yard that still believes there's a race to be won somewhere — you don't keep running a horse this often if you've given up on it entirely.

Jockey Gavin Brouder has partnered her five times without getting his nose in front, which is a winless partnership in 100% of their shared outings. That said, with a horse yet to win at all, that's less a reflection on the rider and more a commentary on the task at hand. The question now is whether that placed form can be built on, or whether Polly Poppins becomes one of those horses whose career highlight remains a handful of near-misses.