Genois

With 3 wins and 13 places from 26 races, Genois wins roughly 1 in every 9 outings — not a dazzling number on paper, but the story is more interesting than that. His current form reads like a horse hitting its stride late in life: two wins from his last six races, and a second win at Wetherby that confirms a genuine affinity with the track. He has now won 2 of his 4 races there, which is the kind of record that makes you sit up. Finding a course that suits a horse is one of racing's small but valuable puzzles, and Wetherby appears to be Genois's answer.

His jockeys talk about him with real warmth. Ben Macey noted that he stays very well and did things nicely at Wetherby, while Sean Bowen described him as "so straightforward, you can do anything you want on him" — which, for a sport built on unpredictable animals, is almost the highest praise there is. Horses with that kind of temperament are genuinely useful because they give the rider options in a race rather than just hanging on.

Jonjo O'Neill's yard, based in Cheltenham, has sent out 52 winners this season alone, so Genois is operating within a confident, well-organised operation. The trainer has already been eyeing bigger targets — specifically mentioning the Topham at Aintree as a possible spring objective — which tells you the team believes there is more to come. Genois raced as recently as yesterday and last won at Exeter two months ago, so he is very much in the thick of his campaign. At ten years old, with his best form arriving now, he is one of those horses who rewards patience. Whether that patience extends to a crack at Aintree remains to be seen.