Rye

The recent form makes for interesting reading. In its last six races Rye has finished third, third, sixth, fifth, second and second — so two placings in a row to start that sequence, a dip in the middle, and then two more placings at the end. That tells you this is a horse that is consistently competitive rather than one that occasionally flukes a good run. It is not embarrassing itself. It is just not winning. Raced just four days ago, it is clearly fit and in a regular routine right now.

Seven of those fourteen races have come in Class 5 company, which is the bread-and-butter level of British racing — competitive enough, but not the grand stages. At that level Rye has drawn a blank from all seven attempts, which does raise a quiet question about whether this is a horse that needs everything to fall perfectly to get its head in front, or whether it simply finds one or two too good on the day.

The partnership with jockey Jack Doughty tells a similar story. The two have teamed up seven times together without a win, though you would not read too much into that given the horse has not won at all. Doughty clearly knows this horse well by now, and with seven shared runs they have built up a real understanding.

Behind the scenes, Rye is trained by Tony Carroll at his yard in Cropthorne, Worcestershire — and this is a stable that knows how to get winners out. Carroll's team has sent out 134 winners already this season, which is a serious number and marks this out as one of the more productive yards in the country. The fact that a horse in such a productive stable has not yet won is not a scandal — every yard has horses finding their level — but it does suggest that when the right opportunity arrives, the preparation will be there. For Rye, the first win is simply a matter of when, not whether the horse is in good hands.