Crackalackin

That win came over a trip between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, which remains the range where Crackalackin looks most at home. In six races at those distances it has won once, a rate of roughly 1 in 6 — not dazzling, but meaningfully better than its overall record suggests. The last six runs have read: a second, a fourth, a third, two sixths, and a blank before that — so there is life in here, just not a winner yet.

Crackalackin competes mostly at Class 5, which is the workaday end of British racing — not uncompetitive, but a level below the races that attract headlines. It has won 1 from 8 at that level, or roughly 1 in every 8 attempts. That tells you this is not a horse dominating its grade; it is more often thereabouts than in front. The yard of Dr Richard Newland and Jamie Insole, based in Worcestershire, has sent out 49 winners this season, so there is plenty of know-how behind this horse — which makes the wait for a second win all the more intriguing. Crackalackin raced just yesterday, so whatever comes next is not far away.