Yosemite Gold

The most encouraging thing in the profile is what happens when the trip stretches out. Over distances between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, Yosemite Gold has won 1 from 6 races — that's roughly 1 in every 6 attempts at those longer distances, compared to a career win rate of just 1 in every 16 overall. In simple terms, give this horse a proper test of stamina and it becomes a noticeably different proposition. That kind of stat is exactly the sort of thing a shrewd punter or trainer holds onto.

Recent form, though, makes for sober reading. The last six runs show a string of unplaced finishes alongside a couple of efforts that never got off the ground — the dashes in the sequence indicate races where Yosemite Gold didn't complete or was pulled up, which is a concern. A thirteenth-place finish most recently is not the form of a horse about to win a race, and at the level Yosemite Gold typically competes — the lower end of the class system — the horse has yet to win from three attempts, which only adds to the puzzle.

Eoin Doyle trains from Mooncoin in County Kilkenny, a small yard that has sent out two winners this season. It is not a powerhouse operation, but small yards can be patient, and there may be a quiet confidence that the right race on the right day is still out there for this horse. Yosemite Gold is still active and still being campaigned, which suggests the team believes there is more to come. Whether that faith is rewarded will likely depend on finding those longer distances again — and ideally a track and a day that suits.