Caramelo Rapido

The recent form makes for tough reading. In the last six outings, Caramelo Rapido has not troubled the judge once, with a second-place finish the only real bright spot among a string of mid-field and towards-the-back performances. Raced just yesterday, this is very much an active campaign, which at least suggests the yard — sorry, the team — believe there is something still to work with.

Regular jockey Jamie Hamilton has been in the saddle for six of those races and is yet to get a tune out of the horse, which is worth noting. It is not always the rider's fault, but six attempts without a win between the pair does suggest Caramelo Rapido is not simply waiting for the right partner to unlock its potential.

Trainer Mark Walford, based at Sheriff Hutton in North Yorkshire, is clearly no stranger to winners — his yard has sent out 35 of them this season, which is a healthy tally and shows he knows how to get a horse ready to win. That makes Caramelo Rapido something of a puzzle sitting in his stable. The horse has been aimed mostly at Class 4 races, which sit in the mid-range of the sport — not the elite level, but competitive enough — and has drawn a blank in all seven of those attempts at that grade, which raises a fair question about whether a different approach is needed.

At seven years old with 13 races under its belt and no wins to show for it, time is not exactly on Caramelo Rapido's side. Some horses do eventually click and find their moment, but the evidence so far points to a horse that competes honestly without ever quite getting to the front. Walford's yard clearly has the tools to produce winners — the challenge is persuading this particular horse to become one of them.