Shaws Phoenix

The recent form makes for uncomfortable reading. Over the last six races, the best Shaws Phoenix has managed is fifth place, twice, with finishes of seventh, eighth, ninth, and eleventh filling out the rest. That is a sequence moving in the wrong direction, and there is little in those numbers to suggest a breakthrough is imminent.

The partnership with jockey Kieran O'Neill has been given a thorough test — ten races together without a win. That is a significant chunk of the horse's entire career spent with the same rider and still no reward for either of them. Trainer duo P Charalambous and J Clutterbuck, based at Newmarket, have managed two winners from their yard this season, so they clearly know how to get a horse to the front — just not yet with this one.

What makes the situation particularly striking is that Shaws Phoenix has spent most of its career at Class 6, the lowest level of competition in Britain. These are the races specifically designed to give horses like this a chance to win. Eleven races at that level, zero wins. That is not a horse that has been pitched in too deep against better animals — it has simply not found a way to win even when the competition is at its gentlest. Raced just yesterday, the horse remains active and the team clearly believe something can change. Whether the evidence supports that optimism is another matter entirely.