Victoria Milano

Both wins tell a reasonable story. The first came at Ludlow in October 2023, and the second followed four months later at Sandown Park in February 2024 — a step up in occasion and a sign that Victoria Milano could deliver when it mattered. Sandown is a proper test of a horse, and winning there is nothing to be embarrassed about. But that was 26 months ago now, and the six races since have brought nothing better than a third place. The recent record of 6–5–3–blank–blank–blank makes for uncomfortable reading, with the two blanks suggesting runs where the horse simply never got into contention.

The majority of Victoria Milano's career has been spent at Class 4 level — the middle tier of British racing, where decent horses without quite enough quality for the top end spend most of their time. At that level the record reads 1 win from 10 races, or roughly 1 in 10, which is on the modest side even for that company. It hints at a horse that occasionally finds the right race and conditions but is not consistently troubling the winner's enclosure.

Trained by the partnership of Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, based at Oldcastle in Cheshire, Victoria Milano is part of a yard that has been in decent form this season — 42 winners is a solid return and shows the team knows how to get horses to perform. The question is whether they can find a spot that suits Victoria Milano well enough to end what is now a run of six races without a win. At eight years old, time is not endlessly on this horse's side, but the fact it raced just yesterday confirms it is fit, active, and still being aimed at opportunities. Whether one of them comes off is the interesting question.