Crystal Dagger

Trained by Joey Ramsden at Newark in Nottinghamshire, Crystal Dagger typically races at Class 5 level, the kind of smaller, local races where the field is less competitive. Yet even there it struggles: zero wins from six attempts at that level. The horse's recent form — eighth, eighth, fourth, eighth, sixth, sixth — suggests it is somewhere in the middle of the field more often than not, occasionally threatening a place but rarely delivering the consistency needed to win. George Downing, its most regular rider, has partnered it five times without a win, and the pairing shows no obvious signs of clicking.

What makes Crystal Dagger worth watching is not its current record but whether it can finally break through. Four places from 14 races means it has the ability to get close — it is not a horse that runs wild at the back of the field. But close is not enough. Ramsden's yard has been working well this season with five winners already, so there is a trainer in form behind the horse. Whether Crystal Dagger will ever repay that faith with a breakthrough win remains the question.