Pouting

The recent form makes for uncomfortable reading. Looking at the last six races, the best finishes came a little while back — a pair of third-place efforts — but since then Pouting has drifted back to fifth, seventh, eighth and sixth. That is a horse moving in the wrong direction, and finishing sixth out of whatever field it lined up against the day before yesterday suggests things have not suddenly clicked into place.

Jockey Finley Marsh has been along for most of the journey, riding Pouting in six of those races without managing to find the winning formula. That is not necessarily a criticism of either horse or rider — sometimes a partnership just cannot unlock what is needed — but six races together with nothing to show for it does raise the question of whether a change of approach might help.

Bourke's yard is not short of form this season, having sent out 10 winners, which means the operation clearly knows how to get a horse ready to win. Pouting typically competes at Class 5, which is the everyday, workaday level of British racing — these are not the glamour races, but they are still competitive enough that simply turning up is not enough. The fact that Pouting has been placed four times at this level without winning suggests a horse that belongs in the conversation but cannot quite finish it.

What happens next is genuinely interesting. A horse that places but does not win is either on the verge of a breakthrough or gradually finding its level. Pouting raced just yesterday, so the team clearly still believes there is something worth chasing. Whether that belief is rewarded remains to be seen.