Al Shabab Storm

Chester is worth understanding as a venue. It's a tight, almost circular track — the shortest flat circuit in Britain — where race tactics and track knowledge matter enormously. Not every horse takes to it. Al Shabab Storm has won 2 from 7 races there, which works out at roughly 1 in every 3 and a half, and that consistency over multiple visits suggests this is a track that genuinely suits the way the horse races. Across its career, competing mostly at the top level — Class 1 races — it has won 1 from 7 at that grade. That's 14%, which sounds modest, but holding your own in the best company week after week is no small thing.

The partnership with jockey Richard Kingscote has produced 1 win from 5 rides together, a 20% win rate — better than the horse's overall average — though the recent form has cooled noticeably. The last 6 races read 12-3-4-8-12-3, meaning two finishes outside the top ten sandwiching a couple of encouraging placed efforts. No wins since that Chester success 22 months ago. The trainer is Michael Appleby, whose yard at Oakham in Rutland has been in excellent form this season, sending out 79 winners. A stable firing at that rate gives every horse in it a genuine platform.

Al Shabab Storm raced just one day ago, so this is a horse firmly in the thick of a campaign. The question hovering over its next run is obvious: can it find its way back to Chester? Because that's where this horse has shown it can be brilliant — and the gap since its last win there is long enough that the yard will surely be keen to find out.