Sonic Invader

Trained by Noel Meade out of Castletown, Co Meath, Sonic Invader is at least in capable hands. Meade's yard has sent out 42 winners already this season, which tells you this is a operation that knows how to get horses ready to perform. The puzzle is why this particular horse keeps falling just short. Three places from seven races is not a bad return — that's a placed finish in nearly half its outings — but the step from placing to winning is the one Sonic Invader has yet to make.

The recent form is a mixed picture. A pair of third-place finishes in its last few races shows the horse is still running respectably, though the seventh-place efforts dotted through the record suggest inconsistency. It raced just yesterday, so there's no question about its fitness or activity — this is a horse very much in the thick of its campaign right now. Whether that busy schedule is helping or hindering is a question worth watching as the season continues.