Uncle Don

His recent form tells a similar story. His last six runs read 10-2-5-2-7-4 — two seconds in there, a fourth, but nothing at the top. He typically lines up in Class 3 races, which are a solid level of competition without being the very top tier, and in five attempts at that level he hasn't won once. That's not a disgrace — it simply means he's competing against decent horses and hasn't quite had his moment yet.

Robert Cowell trains him out of Newmarket, a yard that has sent out 24 winners already this season, so it's a busy, capable operation. Cowell has been doing some thinking about where Uncle Don fits best. After the horse ran at Goodwood over six furlongs — showing plenty of speed early but not quite lasting the trip — Cowell's view is that dropping back to five furlongs could unlock something. The horse hasn't run over that shorter distance for a while, and if his natural inclination is to bowl along keenly from the front, then not having to worry about conserving energy for a sixth furlong might suit him rather well. Cowell reckons he only just missed out on a place at Goodwood and that there's a race to be won with him soon.

Oisin Orr has been the regular jockey, riding him in six of his races and winning once — that 1-from-6 record together actually gives them a win rate of roughly 1 in 6, which is better than the horse's overall career average. He raced just yesterday, so he's clearly being kept busy. Whether the drop in trip Cowell is planning finally brings out the best in him remains to be seen, but Uncle Don is at least a horse with a plan behind him.