Turpin

The recent form makes for similarly tough reading. Over the last six races, the best Turpin has managed is fifth place — twice — with a ninth and a tenth thrown in for good measure. Fifth might sound respectable until you realise this is a horse who has never once finished in a paying position in eleven attempts. The pattern is consistent, and not in the way you want.

Turpin runs at Class 4 level, which sits in the middle of the British racing ladder — not the very bottom, but comfortably away from the big occasions. At that level, the horse has tried three times and won none of them. The trainer, Jim Boyle, operates out of Epsom in Surrey and has clearly been finding winners elsewhere this season — 25 of them — so the talent and the know-how are present at the yard. Turpin just hasn't been able to tap into any of it yet.

What is perhaps most striking is that Turpin raced just yesterday and is still active, which means this story is still being written. Some horses take time, change distance, find a different surface, and suddenly click. Whether Turpin is one of those horses or simply one who hasn't found the right day yet remains to be seen. But right now, the numbers offer very little to cling to.