Yanka Blue

The recent form tells an interesting story. A second place finish in the most recent run, just one day ago, shows Yanka Blue is very much in the mix at the moment — but zoom out and the last six races read 2-5-6-6-9-2, which means two near-misses bookending a run of races where things went quite wrong in the middle. The pair of second places are encouraging; the back-to-back sixth and ninth places less so. This is a horse whose form blows hot and cold, and catching it on the right day clearly matters.

Most of Yanka Blue's racing has come at Class 4 level — the middle tier of everyday racing, not the glamour end of the sport — and the record there reads zero wins from five attempts. That is a hard truth. It means Yanka Blue has had plenty of chances at a level where modest, consistent horses tend to make their mark, and has not been able to convert. Barry John Murphy, who trains the horse from his yard in Caerfyrddin in Carmarthenshire, has sent out two winners this season, so the stable is ticking over rather than firing on all cylinders. A sharper yard in a richer vein of form might find a way to unlock whatever potential is in there — but that is the situation as it stands.

Second place yesterday is at least a reason for mild optimism. Yanka Blue clearly hasn't lost the will to compete. But 13 races without a win is a long road, and at five years old, time is not exactly endless. The next few runs will tell a great deal about whether this horse can translate those near-misses into something more satisfying.