Sunray Shadow

The recent form is where it gets genuinely exciting. Over the last six races, Sunray Shadow has won four, including a win at Uttoxeter just this week. That sequence — four wins from six, with a second and a third filling the gaps — is the kind of form that makes a horse very hard to ignore. Dan Skelton, who trains out of Alcester in Warwickshire and has already sent out 198 winners this season alone, described the horse at one point as "always keeping a bit back" — the trainer's way of saying the horse has more to give than it has so far shown. That is either genuinely exciting or the most tantalising kind of understatement in sport.

The partnership with jockey Harry Skelton, Dan's brother, has been particularly productive. In six races together, Harry has steered Sunray Shadow to four wins — a win rate of 67%, or nearly 2 in every 3 races they have run as a pair. When that combination lines up, history says it usually ends well.

Ground conditions matter to this horse. On normal ground, Sunray Shadow has won 5 of 7 races — a 71% win rate. That tells you this is a horse that wants a fair surface, not a mudbath, and when conditions are right, the results speak for themselves. The one curious note in the record is that against Class 4 competition — the lower-middle tier of British racing — Sunray Shadow has gone 0 from 4. Whether that reflects bad luck, unsuitable conditions on those days, or simply an awkward fit is hard to say, but it sits oddly against everything else in the profile.

Sunray Shadow raced just yesterday and is currently active. At seven years old, with a trainer who clearly believes there is untapped ability still to come, this horse looks like one that could keep improving. The next race will be worth watching closely.