Yaajooz

His one career win came at Thirsk in July 2024, and it remains his only victory — now over 21 months ago. Since then, he has gone six races without adding to it, with his recent form of 8-7-2-3-7-2 showing a horse that has drifted in and out of form. The two second-place finishes suggest the ability is still there, but turning a place into a win has so far remained out of reach.

The distances that suit him best are seven furlongs to a mile, where he has won 1 from 12 races at an 8% win rate. That's not an eye-catching number, but it at least narrows down where his best chance of adding a second win lies. He typically races in Class 5 company — the bread-and-butter level of British racing, a long way from the headline events — and has managed 1 win from 12 races at that level, again at 8%.

He is trained by the father-and-son partnership of Michael and David Easterby at their yard in Sheriff Hutton, North Yorkshire. It is a busy and productive operation — 51 winners already this season — and when Yaajooz arrived there last year, the trainer expressed straightforward optimism about getting him into the winner's enclosure. That confidence was rewarded at Thirsk, though a second win has so far proved harder to come by. With the yard clearly in good form around him, the platform is there — it is just a question of whether Yaajooz can find the right race at the right moment to deliver again.