Dorie Miller

What is perhaps most striking is that the one placing on the record — that solitary moment of promise — remains the sole bright spot across eight attempts. For context, a horse finishing in the top three without ever winning is a little like a darts player who keeps hitting the twenty but never manages a checkout. The potential is suggested, the result never quite arrives.

Dorie Miller is trained by Adrian Sexton at a yard based in Athy, Co Kildare. It is a small operation rather than a powerhouse stable — two winners sent out so far this season — which means resources are focused and every run counts. The fact that the horse raced just yesterday tells you the team still believes there is something to work with here, and that patience has not entirely run out.

At five years old, Dorie Miller is not ancient, but the clock is ticking. Horses that have not broken their duck by this stage need to find their level, and the recent string of double-digit finishes suggests the current level may still be a stretch. One to watch sympathetically rather than financially, for now.