Wodao

The last week has been the best advertisement for that optimism. Wodao won at Redcar on 16 October — just days ago — his most recent victory coming after a run of modest form that included two ninth-place finishes in his last six outings. The win matters less for what it proved than for what it confirmed: on normal ground, where his hooves can find purchase and drive forward, he is a different proposition. He has won twice from eight races on such surfaces, a 25% win rate that tells you where his true level lies. On faster, drier ground he struggles to find the same traction, and on the heavy, churned-up tracks he simply does not flourish.

Gavin Ryan, his most regular rider, knows the horse well — they have paired up eleven times, with Ryan steering him to two wins. The jockey does not fuss with him. Hollinshead's post-race observations after a recent run at Tipperary paint the picture of a straightforward, genuine sort: Wodao jumps off and lets loose, genuine without guile, uncomplicated and quick. The trainer sees him as one that will provide "plenty of fun", the kind of horse you back when conditions suit and the ground is kind. He may never win a Class 1 or 2 race — he has won nothing from six attempts at that level — but on the right day, at the right track, with the ground in his favour, he remains dangerous.