The Hare Rail

Roger Teal trains The Hare Rail out of Lambourn in Berkshire, a village that is essentially the spiritual home of British flat racing, and his yard has been in good form this season with 22 winners already on the board. Teal is clearly fond of this one, even if exasperated by it. He's described the horse as "a right playboy" who "isn't as fast as he thinks he is" — which is a wonderfully honest way of saying the horse has confidence that doesn't quite match its acceleration. Teal believes there's a win hiding in there somewhere and reckons that once it finally gets its nose in front, it could rattle off two or three victories in a row. That's not just trainer optimism — horses that learn to win can sometimes find a habit of it.

The recent form makes for interesting reading. A third-place finish last time out, following a second the run before that, suggests The Hare Rail is at least in the right neighbourhood. It raced just yesterday, which tells you the team are keeping it busy and looking for the right opportunity. At the level it typically competes at — solidly mid-tier racing, not the glamour end of the sport — it has gone 0 from 7, which sounds grim until you remember it has been placing consistently without converting. The margins, apparently, have been tight.

Whether The Hare Rail ever delivers on its trainer's faith is the open question. It has the profile of a horse one good day away from breaking its duck, and Roger Teal clearly believes that day is coming. For its owners, who have watched it finish second four times without a winner's prize, the wait must feel very long indeed.