Busty Boy

What makes the recent form interesting is that it shows a horse in genuinely good nick. His last six runs read 4-2-3-3-3-2 — no wins, but a stream of placings that suggests he is comfortable and consistent at this level. He raced just one day ago, which means he is very much in the thick of things right now, and Daragh Bourke's yard has had a productive season with 10 winners sent out, so the operation clearly knows what it is doing.

His most regular partner is jockey Brian Hughes, one of the most respected jump jockeys in the north of Britain. Together they have won once from seven races — that is a 14% win rate, or roughly 1 in every 7 rides — which is noticeably better than Busty Boy's overall record and suggests Hughes gets the best out of him. At Class 4, the bread-and-butter level of racing rather than the glamour end, he has won 1 from 10 races — 10%, or about 1 in every 10 — which is modest but not embarrassing at a level where the competition is still meaningful.

That sole career win at Kelso came 31 months ago now, and it still stands alone. Whether another one comes before his racing days are done is the open question. But a horse that places in more than half its races, is still racing actively at nine, and keeps finishing in the places is doing something right. Busty Boy may never fill a trophy cabinet, but he is clearly no passenger either.