Arctician

His most recent victory came at Kempton Park on 3 November last year, nine months ago, and since then he has had six races without a win — three fourth-place finishes and two sevenths among them. That form has the look of a horse running out of ideas. Trained by Simon Dow's Epsom yard, which has been reasonably productive this season with 14 winners, Arctician has nonetheless gone quiet. His partnership with regular jockey Paddy Bradley tells a similar story: they have won four of 23 races together, a 17% rate that is healthier than his overall record but still shows this is a player rather than a performer.

Lingfield Park has been Arctician's most consistent hunting ground, with 2 wins from 13 races there — better form than elsewhere, though hardly dominant. The horse raced just yesterday, suggesting the yard sees something left to find, but after nine months without a win and a recent pattern of minor places at best, he looks to be a horse whose best days are sliding into the rear-view mirror. He remains active and clearly liked enough to keep running, but Arctician is a journeyman through and through.