Shabu Shabu

The problem is that Shabu Shabu has not won since that August day — 15 months of racing without another victory. The recent form reads 7-4-7-10-6-11 (most recent first), which means a fourth-place finish sits among a string of mid-field efforts. Daniel Muscutt, the jockey who rides Shabu Shabu most often, has been aboard five times without a win between them, which hints that finding the right conditions — the right distance, the right race — has become harder as time has passed. The horse was last out just a day ago and remains active, so the search for win number two continues.

Matt Crawley's Newmarket yard trains Shabu Shabu and has sent out four winners this season, so there is competence in the stable. But at Class 6 level — the lower reaches of the racing ladder — Shabu Shabu manages a 12 per cent win rate from 8 races, which is respectable if unspectacular. The horse has the form to find races it can win, but the gap between that August breakthrough and now has grown long. For a trainer and jockey to unlock another victory, they will need to pitch Shabu Shabu precisely at the kind of mile-and-a-quarter trip where it once flew.