Coolkatie

What makes the situation intriguing is who is in charge. Coolkatie is trained by Dan Skelton, whose yard at Alcester in Warwickshire has been one of the most productive operations in Britain this season, sending out 194 winners. That is an exceptional number — it puts Skelton firmly in the conversation as one of the country's leading trainers. When a yard is firing at that level, they tend to know which horses have a future and which need time or a change of approach. The fact that Coolkatie is still in training and raced as recently as yesterday suggests the team believes there is a race to be won somewhere.

The horse has run four times at Class 4 level — which sits roughly in the middle of the racing ladder, not the elite end but not the very bottom either — and has yet to win any of them. Finding the right opportunity is clearly the puzzle. With a trainer of Skelton's calibre pulling the strings, Coolkatie's first win may simply be a matter of finding the right day.