Duke Orsino

The recent form makes for difficult reading. In his last six races, his finishing positions read 7th, 7th, 10th, 9th, 12th, and 4th — that 4th place is the closest he has come, though it still left him outside the prize money. The broader trend is not encouraging: he appears to be finishing further back, not closer to the front. In Class 6 racing — the entry-level tier of British racing, essentially the bottom rung of the ladder — he has raced five times and is yet to win. These are the races specifically designed to give horses like Duke Orsino a fighting chance, which makes the blank record harder to explain away.

He is trained by J R Jenkins, based in Royston, Hertfordshire. The yard has sent out eight winners this season, so it is not as though the operation lacks the ability to get horses across the line. Duke Orsino, for whatever reason, simply has not been able to translate that into a result of his own. He raced just a day ago, so the yard are clearly persevering and searching for the right opportunity. Whether that opportunity arrives before his record stretches any further remains the question everyone around the horse will be hoping is answered soon.