Secret Secret

The numbers tell a convincing story: 6 wins and 11 places from 32 races, winning roughly 1 in every 5 starts across his career. But the detail that really stands out is his record at Cartmel, the tight, picturesque track that is essentially the yard's home course. Three wins from 8 races there — that's winning more than once every three visits — including his most recent victory on 21 July last year. For a horse that cost less than some people spend on a weekend away, that kind of local dominance is remarkable.

He is at his best when the ground is wet. On soft or muddy conditions he has won 2 from 5 races — that's 40%, which is exceptional — and he handles slightly soft ground almost as well, winning 2 from 7 there. Moffatt acknowledged he went a step too far last time out by running him on ground that was too soft, which puts that "9" at the back of his recent form into proper context. Strip that out and his last six runs read: 6-4-1-3, which is the form of a horse who is showing up and competing every single time.

His most trusted partner is Charlotte Jones, who has ridden him to 4 of his 6 career wins from 14 races together — winning at a rate of roughly 1 in every 3.5 rides. That is a proper partnership, built on familiarity with a horse who, by all accounts, simply wants to gallop. The phrase Moffatt uses is that he "just gallops — that's his forte," and the recent form backs that up entirely. He raced just yesterday and is still very much in active training, with Moffatt planning a spring and summer campaign. For a £1,500 purchase, he has been very good value indeed.