Rory Rocket

Brighton is where Rory Rocket genuinely shines. The track has been kind — two wins from just four races there amounts to a 50% win rate, which is the kind of win rate that turns a horse from anonymous to genuinely interesting. That kind of specialization at a single course isn't uncommon, but it does suggest the horse has found conditions or a distance that suit it. The downside is telling: step it up to Class 4 races, one rung higher in quality, and it has never won. Five attempts without success suggests that leap in class is proving difficult.

There is a curious wrinkle in the jockey department. Tom Queally, who rides for the yard most often, has had six chances aboard Rory Rocket without a win. That's a hard record to build from, and it raises a question: is the pairing simply not clicking, or does Rory Rocket just need a different approach? Trainer Gary Moore — based at Lower Beeding in West Sussex, and a yard that has already sent out 99 winners this season — will be weighing up whether another rider might unlock something different. For now, Rory Rocket remains a horse with talent enough to win regularly at its true level, but a horse still searching for exactly where that level is.