Smart Vision

That October win was the highlight of a purple patch in recent form. Look at the last six races in reverse order and you see a horse that was finishing third, then won back-to-back, before fading to eighth, tenth, and ninth in its three most recent outings. Form like that — a burst of brilliance followed by some quieter efforts — is common in horses that run frequently, and Smart Vision is certainly doing that. It raced just one day ago, which means it is busy, fit, and clearly being kept active by trainer Jessica Macey's yard in Doncaster.

Macey's team has sent out 15 winners this season, which is a healthy number, and Smart Vision is one of the horses carrying the yard's confidence. The most trusted combination in the saddle is jockey Lewis Edmunds, who has ridden the horse in 16 of its races and won 4 of them — a win rate of 25%, or 1 in every 4 rides together. That is noticeably better than the horse's overall average, which suggests Edmunds knows how to get the best out of it.

One pattern worth watching is the ground. Smart Vision has won 2 from 7 races on fast, dry ground — just under 1 in 3 — which is a meaningfully better return than its overall figures. When conditions firm up in the summer months, this horse tends to go up a gear. Most of its races have come at Class 4 level, which is solid mid-tier competition, but that Class 2 win at Doncaster in October showed it can step up and deliver on a bigger stage. For a horse with 5 career wins and still racing at five years old, Smart Vision is very much a work in progress — and an interesting one at that.