Ponntos

The level at which Ponntos competes tells an important part of the story. Five of its races have come in Class 1 contests — the very top tier of the sport — and it has not won any of them. That is not necessarily a mark against the horse; running in the best races in Britain simply means the competition is ferocious, and placing in that company still takes real ability. Ponntos has been aimed high, which explains why a horse with genuine talent on its day still has a win rate of just 5%, or roughly one win in every 20 races.

Antonio Fresu has been the regular partner in the saddle, riding Ponntos six times and winning once together — a win rate of around 1 in 6. That is actually a decent return given the calibre of races this horse tends to enter. The pair clearly have a working relationship, and with Ponntos having raced just 29 days ago, another run looks imminent. Whether the horse can recapture the form that produced that Meydan win remains the question — but at eight, still active, and still placing in top-level company, Ponntos is far from finished.