Zarinca

The most interesting thing about Zarinca is where she runs best. Over shorter distances—between five furlongs and six and a half furlongs—she wins one race in every four attempts, a rate that is noticeably better than her overall record. This suggests Edward Bethell's yard at Middleham, which has already sent out 61 winners this season, may have found her ideal trip. Her recent runs tell a mixed story: after finishing last and seventh in consecutive races, she bounced back with a win at Southwell, then dipped again with a sixth-place finish before running much better—fourth and fifth in her last two outings. That pattern of one promising run followed by a struggling one looks like a horse still learning her trade rather than one in real form, but she was back in action just yesterday, so the yard are keeping her racing regularly and hunting for another breakthrough.