Alcaraz

The recent form tells a mixed story. Those back-to-back second-place finishes in the middle of the sequence showed that Alcaraz can compete and get its nose in front of most of the field — just not all of it. The run before those, a seventh, and the most recent outing before the break, an eighth, suggest the level of performance is inconsistent. What you want to see from a horse like this is one of those placed efforts turning into an actual victory. It has not managed that yet in five attempts, but the talent to be competitive is clearly there.

Tom Dascombe trains Alcaraz out of Upper Lambourn in Berkshire, and the yard has been in decent form this season with 22 winners sent out. That is a useful sign — horses in a yard that is firing tend to benefit from confidence and good preparation. At its usual level of competition, Alcaraz has run three times without winning, so it has not yet converted that consistency into a result. Whether the return from its break brings a freshness that finally gets it to the winner's enclosure is the question worth watching. Five races in, the clock is ticking — but it is not yet out of chances.