Tommy McJohn

His recent form tells a familiar story. Looking at his last six races, the most recent first: 7th, 5th, 3rd, 8th, 11th, 10th. That third place is the one flicker of encouragement in an otherwise frustrating sequence, and he raced just yesterday, so there is no shortage of opportunities being found for him. The team clearly believe there is a race to be won with him somewhere — the challenge is finding it.

Gary Carroll has been the regular jockey, partnering Tommy McJohn in 6 races without managing a win between them. That is not necessarily a damning statistic — a horse with only 1 win from 20 races overall is not going to hand any rider an easy job — but it does mean the partnership is still searching for its moment. The trainer is Adrian Paul Keatley, based at Ryedale in North Yorkshire, and his yard has been in decent form this season with 40 winners sent out. That background gives Tommy McJohn a solid enough platform — the horses around him are winning, even if he has not joined them yet.

At this stage of his career, Tommy McJohn looks like a horse who needs everything to fall just right — the right race, the right conditions, and perhaps a bit of luck running his way. He has shown he can get his head in front, having done it once already, and yesterday's run confirms the team have not given up on finding another opportunity. Whether that moment comes soon is the open question.