Forsa Bay

The recent form makes for honest reading. Looking back over the last six runs, Forsa Bay has finished third twice and fifth twice, with two pulled-up or unplaced efforts in between. That's the profile of a horse that competes without threatening to take over at the front. It raced just yesterday, so it's clearly being kept busy, but the results haven't shifted.

Brian Hughes, one of the most respected jockeys in the north, has partnered Forsa Bay five times without a win between them. That's not necessarily a reflection on Hughes — he wins on plenty of horses — but it does underline that this particular pairing hasn't found the combination it needs yet. The horse typically runs in Class 5 company, which is the entry-level tier of British racing, and has still not won in four attempts at that level. That's a meaningful detail. These are the races specifically designed to give horses like Forsa Bay a realistic shot, and it hasn't taken one yet.

Trainer L J Morgan, based at Waltham on the Wolds in Leicestershire, has sent out 14 winners this season, so the yard clearly knows how to get horses winning. Forsa Bay just hasn't been one of them. At six years old and still searching for that first victory, the window isn't closing fast, but it's worth noting it isn't getting any wider either. For now, Forsa Bay is a horse that fills a field, finishes in the mix occasionally, and keeps turning up — which, in racing, counts for something even if the winner's enclosure remains out of reach.