Desert Cop

What makes Desert Cop interesting is his unpredictability. Oisin Murphy, the jockey who has ridden him twice with a 25% win rate together, said after the Newmarket victory that "you never know when Desert Cop is going to turn up like that — sometimes he doesn't travel with the same zest." This is not a machine. Trainer George Baker, who has sent out 14 winners this season from his Epsom Downs yard, spent the winter running the horse in Bahrain and came agonisingly close to winning the sprinter championship there. Desert Cop picked up a local Grade 1 and ran brilliantly in two turf series races, finishing second both times. That winter abroad clearly left its mark: when Baker brought him back to British racing, the improvements were visible. Murphy believes Desert Cop is the sort that gets better with age and may yet reach genuine heights, even if a top-level Group 1 victory remains uncertain.

His form over the last six races has been ragged — he picked up a win at Windsor six weeks ago, but before that managed only a handful of placed finishes from five outings. At 12% overall (4 wins from 32 races), Desert Cop wins roughly once every eight attempts, which suggests he is a horse for patient people. But those two Class 2 victories prove he can perform when conditions suit him, and Baker's faith in his potential appears well-placed.