Full Gas

The recent form makes for interesting reading. That second place is sandwiched between finishes of seventh and fourth, which is a fairly typical picture for a horse that blows hot and cold. The most encouraging sign is that Full Gas raced just yesterday, meaning the team clearly still believe there is a race to be won somewhere — you do not keep a horse active if you have given up on it.

Regular jockey Kevin Stott has been aboard for five of those nine races and is yet to find the winner's enclosure with Full Gas either, going 0 from 5 together. That is a working partnership that has not yet paid off, though it clearly remains the first-choice combination. Stott is an experienced rider who knows the horse well by now, which counts for something when a breakthrough eventually comes.

The trainer, Kevin Ryan, operates a serious yard out of Hambleton in North Yorkshire — 45 winners already this season is a strong return that speaks to a professional, well-run operation. Ryan regularly places horses at the right level and finds races that suit them, so the fact that Full Gas has not won yet is unlikely to be a puzzle that goes unsolved forever. When a trainer of that calibre keeps running a horse, it is usually because they can see ability worth chasing. For Full Gas, the question is simply when that ability translates into a result — and given it raced as recently as yesterday, the answer could come very soon.