The Stone Power

That sole victory came at Ffos Las on 12 August, and encouragingly, the horse has added three places in the six races since — most recently finishing third just a day ago. The form is spotty: a third-place finish two weeks back, then a fourth, a seventh, and another third before that one-point effort. It's the kind of record that suggests a horse still learning, capable of running well on its day but not yet consistent enough to be reliable.

The most telling detail is what happens when The Stone Power gets the distance it seems to prefer. Over 1m1f to 1m2f — the sweet spot of a mile and a bit — it has won 1 of 5 races, a 20% win rate that's well above its overall 12%. Ralph Beckett's yard, based in Kimpton, Hampshire, is a serious operation that has sent out 107 winners already this season, so the horse is in capable hands. At three years old and still racing actively, there is time for The Stone Power to work out what it is best at and string together a run that justifies the patience being invested in it.