Ridgemaster

The most encouraging thing about Ridgemaster is what happens when he lines up over his best trip. At distances between seven furlongs and a mile, he has won 1 from 3, which works out at 33% — winning roughly 1 in every 3 races at those distances. For a horse who wins just 1 in every 12 races overall, that is a striking contrast, and it tells you the team know exactly where he is at his most dangerous. Get the conditions right, get the trip right, and he becomes a different proposition.

His recent form is a bit of a rollercoaster — finishing 11th and 8th in two of his last six runs before that Newcastle win, then a seventh, a third, and a second since. That pattern suggests a horse who can be frustrating but is not out of form. He raced just yesterday, so he is clearly fit and active. Simon Waugh's yard has sent out just 1 winner this season, which means Ridgemaster himself accounts for that tally — a small operation where every winner genuinely matters. Whether Waugh can find the right race to bring the best out of him again is the question worth watching.