Volendam

The most interesting thread running through Volendam's career is the gap between effort and reward. At the distance where this horse competes most — around a mile and one to two furlongs — the record reads one win from 12 races, roughly 1 in every 12 outings. That is not a horse dominating its best trip, but it is a horse that has clearly found a level it can compete at. The recent sequence of finishes — a win, then a third, then a second — tells the story of a horse in form, not one fading away.

The yard behind Volendam is worth noting. Trainer A W Carroll, based in Cropthorne in Worcestershire, has sent out 136 winners this season alone — that is a genuinely productive operation, the kind of stable that knows how to place horses in races they can win. Regular jockey Jack Doughty has partnered Volendam in five of those races, winning one of them — that is a 1-in-5 win rate together, which is actually a much better return than the overall career record suggests. When those two combine, things tend to go better.

What the profile of Volendam really shows is a horse still finding its feet at the top of its ability range. Most appearances have come in Class 6 races — the entry-level tier of British racing — and the record there reads zero wins from nine starts. The Bath victory, fittingly, came elsewhere. This is a horse still searching for its ideal spot, but with a busy, capable yard managing the process and a jockey who clearly suits, there is every reason to think that April win at Bath will not be the only one.