Reposado

The recent form is actually more encouraging than the win column suggests. Looking at the last six runs, Reposado has finished second three times, which means it has been beaten into second place more often than it has finished anywhere else. That is a horse running consistently well at the business end of races, which makes the absence of a win all the more frustrating for everyone involved. The one blip is a sixth-place finish sandwiched in there, but the pattern either side of it is of a horse that competes right to the line.

David Egan has been in the saddle for all six of those recent runs and has yet to get the partnership into the winner's enclosure, going 0 from 6 together. That is not necessarily a reflection on either horse or jockey — sometimes a combination just keeps running into something slightly better on the day. Given how consistently Reposado has placed, it would be no surprise if that partnership eventually clicked.

The trainer is Robson De Aguiar, operating out of Mullingar in Westmeath, and the yard has sent out 11 winners so far this season — so this is not an operation short of ability or know-how. Reposado raced just yesterday, which tells you the team clearly believes the horse is in good enough shape to keep running, and that confidence in the horse's wellbeing is worth noting. The search for that breakthrough win is very much ongoing, and with a horse placing this regularly, it feels less like a question of whether it can win and more a question of when.