San Hilario

The recent form tells an interesting story. Strip away the last two runs — a 9th and a 20th, which look like the horse was struggling — and the four races before that produced a string of second-place finishes. Four runners-up spots in a row suggests a horse that is competitive and consistent, just frustratingly unable to get his nose in front. The 9th and 20th will have been concerning, but Elliott has been here before with young horses who take time to find their feet.

Elliott himself has said San Hilario arrived from France and disappointed early on, but that a break has done the horse good and he is expecting a better animal to turn up next time out. That kind of public optimism from one of jump racing's most successful trainers — a man whose yard has sent out 210 winners already this season — is worth noting. Elliott does not tend to oversell horses, and when he says a young import has come good in training, it is usually worth paying attention. Jack Kennedy, one of the sharpest jockeys in Ireland, has ridden San Hilario in all six of their races together without a win, but their partnership has not been without promise.

San Hilario is still lightly raced for his age, and the combination of a patient trainer, a top jockey, and a horse who has clearly shown he can be placed at a decent level gives the profile a genuinely optimistic feel. He raced just yesterday, so he is very much in active training. Whether he can convert that consistency into an actual win remains to be seen — but on Elliott's evidence, the expectation is that it is coming.