The Grayster

The recent form tells an interesting story. A win followed by a fifth place, then a second place finish, shows decent consistency even if the results are mixed. Across four races overall, the horse has one win and two second or third place finishes — that's a 25 per cent win rate. It's early days, but after months or even longer without a victory, finally breaking the duck suggests The Grayster has found a suitable level or perhaps the horse is improving with racing.

Dan Skelton's yard at Alcester, Warwickshire, has been in prolific form this season with 198 winners, so The Grayster is in a stable that knows how to get horses winning. The problem so far is that the horse has yet to master Class 4 races — it's managed zero wins from three attempts at that level — which suggests it may be operating just above its comfort zone. But a recent victory at Worcester offers hope that patience may be rewarded. The Grayster is still a work in progress, but the timing of that breakthrough win suggests the trainer believes better is still to come.