Thanos

The overall record — 2 wins and 6 places from 9 races, which works out at roughly 1 in every 4.5 races — tells an interesting story on its own. This is not a horse that runs badly and disappears; it places consistently, which means it is competitive without always having enough to win. The recent form string of 3-1-1-2-2-2 (reading from most recent backwards) is the kind of sequence that makes people pay attention: a horse that was finishing second or third regularly has now won twice in its last three outings. That is a horse moving in the right direction.

The one puzzle in the profile is the Class 4 record: three races at that level and no wins, while the two victories have come elsewhere. Class 4 is a fairly standard level of British racing, so it is worth watching how Thanos handles a return to that company. It is possible those races simply came at the wrong time, before the horse had found its current form.

Behind the scenes, Thanos is trained by Harry Charlton at Beckhampton in Wiltshire — a yard that has sent out 38 winners already this season. That is a busy, productive operation, and horses trained there tend to be well-placed and well-prepared. Charlton's team clearly know what they have here, and the decision to run Thanos twice within a fortnight at the end of May suggests they spotted the horse coming to the boil and acted on it. Having last raced just one day ago, Thanos is right in the thick of its season — and on current form, there is every reason to think the best may still be ahead.