Turty Tree

That sole win came at Sandown Park on 13th June, and it remains the high point of a career still very much in its early chapters. Winning once in six races works out at roughly 1 in every 6 — around 17% — which for a young horse still finding its feet is a perfectly respectable return. More telling, perhaps, is the placing record: five times in the frame from six outings means Turty Tree has almost never run a bad race. That kind of consistency at this age is exactly what catches a trainer's eye.

The horse is in the care of Andrew Balding at Kingsclere in Hampshire, one of the most productive yards in the country right now. Balding's team have sent out 202 winners already this season — a number that puts them firmly among the elite operations in British racing. Horses trained there tend to be well-placed and well-prepared, so when Turty Tree lines up, it is usually for good reason.

With a race just yesterday, this is a horse very much in the thick of a busy campaign. The recent form reads 2-1-4-3-3-2 going back from the latest run — that single blip of a fourth place aside, Turty Tree has barely put a foot wrong. Keep an eye on it when it returns to Sandown, the scene of that first win. Horses often run well at tracks they have already conquered.