Thornaby Pearl

Adrian Nicholls, who trains Thornaby Pearl at his Sessay yard in North Yorkshire, understands what makes the horse tick. He travels strongly and looks impressive when things go his way, but he is a difficult animal to keep winning with. The real insight from Nicholls is this: Thornaby Pearl does not like the cut and thrust of a close race. Get him out in front and he can look brilliant. Get caught up in the usual chaos of mid-field and he struggles. This is why his record on normal ground — three wins from twelve races, a 25 percent win rate — tells the real story. Give him firm turf and he finds it harder. But when the ground has some give in it, he improves markedly. He won with impressive style at Doncaster in March in wet conditions, the sort of day when he thrives.

He is a specialist at Hamilton Park too, with two wins from seven races there, and typically competes in Class 5 company, where his win rate drops to 12 percent from 24 attempts. Most of his races come at modest level, and perhaps that is fitting: Thornaby Pearl is a consistent, straightforward worker who does his job and moves on. At eight years old, still actively racing and fresh from a win, he remains useful — not a star, but a horse who will rack up another win or two before the year is out, provided the ground stays reasonable and he gets the front.