Rumbustious

The recent form makes for interesting reading. That sequence of 10-4-2-4-4-3 shows a horse that was well beaten in its most recent run but had been knocking on the door before that — a second and two thirds in among those figures suggest it has been running in competitive races where the margins are tight. The jump from third and second back to a distant tenth is the kind of inconsistency that keeps trainers guessing.

What Rumbustious does have in its favour is the yard behind it. Charlie Johnston operates out of Middleham Moor in North Yorkshire, one of the most productive training bases in the country, and this season the team has sent out 131 winners — a remarkable volume that reflects genuine depth and know-how. A trainer firing at that rate does not run out of ideas quickly, and a lightly-raced three-year-old with placed form is exactly the kind of project a busy, confident yard keeps faith with. There is still time in the season for things to click.