Aalto

The awkward truth, though, is that win came 22 months ago, and Aalto hasn't been able to repeat it since. The last six runs read 9-8-7-11-7-18, which tells its own story — finishing in the back half of the field more often than not, including an 18th-place finish that will have had the yard scratching their heads. For a horse who showed it could compete in a top-quality race, that kind of form is frustrating to watch.

Aalto is trained by Ian Williams, whose operation in Portway, Worcestershire has had a productive season — 96 winners sent out, which is the sign of a well-run, ambitious yard. Williams clearly knows how to get horses to win, which makes Aalto something of a puzzle. At seven furlongs to a mile, where Aalto has run 12 times, the record reads 1 win from those 12 attempts, a win rate of around 8%. Competent, but not dominant. And at Class 2 level across 12 races, the same single win stands alone.

Aalto raced just yesterday, so this is a horse in the middle of an active campaign rather than one being nursed back to form. Whether that Class 2 victory at Newmarket was a one-off peak or a sign of what this horse can do on its best day, the team at Ian Williams' yard will be hoping the answer becomes clearer soon.