Tune In A Box

The horse seems to have a type of ground it genuinely prefers. On wet or muddy conditions, it has won twice from eight races — a rate of 25 percent, double its career average. That's the sort of preference worth noting, because it suggests there is something in the tank when the going suits. By contrast, when stepped up to Class 3, the better-class races, it has managed nothing from eight attempts. This tells you where Tune In A Box belongs: it is a horse for the lower grades, and one that needs rain to give itself a real chance.

Stan Sheppard, the jockey most associated with the horse, has ridden it in thirteen races and won two of them, matching the horse's overall win rate. The trainer Tom Lacey, based at Woolhope in Herefordshire, runs a productive yard that has sent out thirty-seven winners this season, suggesting a stable operation at least. Tune In A Box raced just yesterday and is still in work, so the yard are not ready to move on just yet. Its recent form shows five consecutive races without a win, but horses can turn a corner quickly on the right ground and in the right race. For now, though, it remains a long shot — reliable enough in places it likes, but struggling to find the consistency that turns a useful horse into something more.