The Good Doctor

That one win came at Fontwell Park on Boxing Day 2023, now over 28 months ago. Since then, six races without a win, and the recent form — fifth, fifth, fourth, third, fourth — paints a picture of a horse hovering around the edges of relevance. The third place is the bright spot in there; it shows the ability hasn't entirely dried up. But finishing third and fifth repeatedly at this level is a little like being the best player on a team that keeps losing by one goal.

The class of race The Good Doctor typically enters — Class 3, one step below the elite tier — has proven a tough nut to crack. In six attempts at that level, the win column reads zero. That's not unusual for a horse with a modest overall record, but it does raise the question of whether dropping into easier company might unlock something. Trainer Ben Pauling, based in Naunton in the Gloucestershire countryside, clearly has the operation running well — 84 winners this season from his yard is a serious number, roughly one every few days, which marks him out as a trainer who knows how to get horses winning. The Good Doctor, to be blunt, has not been one of them lately.

Regular partner Ben Jones has been aboard for 8 of the 13 races and is still waiting for a win together. That kind of partnership without a breakthrough can start to feel like a puzzle neither horse nor rider has quite solved. The horse raced just yesterday, so it is as current and active as they come — whatever comes next will tell us whether there is still a chapter worth reading, or whether The Good Doctor is destined to be one of those horses remembered fondly for one good day at Fontwell on a cold December afternoon.