Atreides

The broader numbers are honest rather than flattering. Atreides has won just 2 of its 26 races — roughly 1 in every 13 — and has spent most of its career in Class 5 company, which is the entry level of British racing. Even there, the record reads 1 win from 18 attempts, or about 6%. That tells you this is not a horse that dominates its level. What it does do, though, is show up: 14 places from those 26 races means it has finished in the frame more than half the time, the kind of honest, consistent performer that keeps coming back and making a race of it without always having the extra gear to win.

The recent form makes for interesting reading. In the last six races, Atreides has won twice, finished second twice, and only once finished outside the places. That is a horse in the best form of its career, whatever the overall record might suggest. It has been off the track for 59 days now — a short breather rather than a lengthy spell on the sidelines — so it returns reasonably fresh.

Trainer Neil Mulholland has had a productive season from his yard at Limpley Stoke in Wiltshire, sending out 61 winners, so Atreides is part of a stable operating with real confidence. One puzzle worth noting is the partnership with jockey Conor O'Farrell, who has ridden Atreides eight times without a win between them. That does not mean it cannot happen, but it is the kind of stat that catches the eye. The two December wins came at the right end of a long wait — the question now is whether Atreides can carry that momentum forward or whether those eight days were the peak of the story.