Sally Annes Dream

The recent form makes for tough reading. Over her last six races, her finishing positions read 7-8-6-8-11-7 — meaning she's been finishing in the bottom half of her fields more often than not, with that eleventh-place finish particularly eye-catching for the wrong reasons. She hasn't won in any of her last six races, which of course extends her overall record of zero wins from twelve attempts. At Class 6, the lowest tier of British racing, she has run seven times without success. Class 6 is where horses come to find races they can be competitive in, so struggling at that level suggests the task of getting off the mark remains a real challenge.

She does come back fresh, though. Sally Annes Dream hasn't raced in around four months, and occasionally a break can sharpen a horse up — trainers use them deliberately to reset and return with improvement. Spencer's yard has been in decent form this season, sending out 13 winners, so there's clearly competence behind her preparation. Whether a freshened-up Sally Annes Dream is a different proposition to the one who finished eleventh last time out is the question worth watching. The evidence so far says be cautious, but the blank slate of a new campaign at least gives her the chance to write a different story.