Torito

Back in June 2023, Torito won at Epsom Downs in a Class 2 race — one of the better races in Britain — and that remains the highlight of its career to date. Epsom is a notoriously tricky track, a sharp, undulating course that exposes horses who aren't quite up to it. Winning there means something. The problem is that was 34 months ago, and Torito hasn't been able to repeat that level since, going winless across its last six races with a recent sequence reading 4th, 6th, 3rd, 6th, 11th, 3rd — plenty of placing, no winning.

What makes that drought especially striking is the company Torito has been keeping. It competes mainly in Class 1 races — the very top tier — and has drawn a blank in all seven attempts at that level, winning 0 from 7. There is no shame in that; these are the hardest races to win in the country. But it does raise the question of whether Torito is a horse that is most comfortable one rung down the ladder, where it can actually get to the winner's enclosure rather than just miss out.

At longer distances — between a mile and three furlongs and a mile and four — Torito shows its best form, winning 1 from 3 at those trips (33%), which is a genuinely solid record at a distance that suits. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, one of Britain's most successful yards with 136 winners already this season, Torito is in the right hands to find another opportunity. After a break of 88 days, the question is whether a return to a slightly easier class, over the right distance, can get this horse back to winning ways for the first time in nearly three years.