Ryefield

The recent run of form tells a familiar story. A runner-up finish a few races back offered a genuine moment of encouragement, but either side of it the results have been disappointing, including an eighth, ninth, and tenth in consecutive races. Ryefield raced just yesterday, so it is clearly being kept busy, but the results suggest the team at Lawrence Mullaney's yard in Newark are still searching for the right opportunity to unlock a win.

Mullaney's stable has sent out two winners this season, which is a modest return and reflects the modest level at which horses like Ryefield are competing. Class 5 is the everyday bread-and-butter level of British racing — the kind of races where horses are still finding their feet — and even there Ryefield has failed to win in four attempts. At some point the yard will need to find a race where everything clicks, because at three years old there is still time to turn things around, but the clock is ticking.