Ghasham

His recent runs tell a similar story. In his last six races the best he has managed is a second place, with a string of third, fourth, and fifth-place finishes alongside it. He raced just yesterday, so he is clearly fit and active, but the question of when that elusive next win might come is getting harder to answer. His most common jockey, Charlie Todd, has ridden him seven times without once getting him to the line first, which is the kind of statistic that starts to feel like a pattern rather than bad luck.

There is one glimmer of something more promising buried in the numbers. At distances around a mile and three to a mile and four furlongs, Ghasham has won 1 from 4 races — that is 1 in every 4, a far better ratio than anywhere else. For a horse who has been largely anonymous at his usual Class 4 level — zero wins from 13 races there — finding the right trip looks like the most obvious lever to pull. Class 4 sits in the mid-range of British racing, and the fact that he cannot convert at that level suggests he is facing horses that are consistently just a touch too good.

He is trained by Sam England at a yard in Guiseley, West Yorkshire, and the operation is clearly in decent health — 49 winners already this season shows a team that knows how to get horses ready to race. Whether England can find the right conditions to unlock another win from Ghasham is the puzzle. His career earnings and record suggest a horse who has contributed reliably without ever threatening to make headlines. But horses have surprised people before, and he is still out there competing, which counts for something.