Uncle Don

What makes Uncle Don genuinely watchable right now is that his recent form tells a story of a horse finding its feet again. Runs of second, fifth, and second in his last few outings suggest he is competitive without quite having the finishing kick to seal the deal. His trainer Robert Cowell, who operates out of Newmarket and has sent out 24 winners already this season, has been open about where the problem lies: Uncle Don is sharp and keen, but over six furlongs he simply runs out of petrol before the line. At Goodwood recently, he showed real early speed but just couldn't sustain it to the finish.

The plan now is to drop him back to five furlongs — a shorter, sharper test that might suit a horse who clearly wants to burn bright early rather than grind it out. Cowell believes the speed is there, and having not raced over that trip for some time, there's a genuine sense of something to find out. That is actually quite an appealing situation: a horse with proven ability, a trainer who has identified what went wrong, and a simple tactical adjustment that could unlock a win.

Jockey Oisin Orr has been the regular partner, riding Uncle Don in six of his races and winning once together — a ratio of roughly 1 in every 6 rides. That is respectable given the horse's overall record. At Class 3 level, which is one step below the elite tier, Uncle Don has yet to win from five attempts, so the yard may be weighing up whether a step down in grade could help him find that elusive second victory. He raced just yesterday, so he is firmly in the thick of things — and with a trip back to five furlongs potentially on the horizon, there could be more to come from this quietly persistent horse.