Glenmuick

Trained by Charlie Longsdon out of Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, Glenmuick is part of a yard that has been in fine form this season, sending out 33 winners. That context matters: Longsdon clearly knows how to get horses winning, which makes Glenmuick something of an outlier in an otherwise productive string. The horse has run four times at Class 5 level — the entry point of British racing, where the competition is at its most accessible — and has still not managed a win from any of them. Zero wins from four attempts at the easiest level available is a hard number to look past.

Recent form makes for grim reading. Over the last six races, in order from most recent, the finishing positions read: 8th, 2nd, 9th, 7th, 8th, 5th. That solitary second place is the one moment of promise in an otherwise deeply frustrating sequence — a glimpse that the ability might be there, even if converting it into a win has so far proved beyond Glenmuick. The horse raced just yesterday, so it is very much an active campaign, and the team will be hoping that second place was the turning point rather than just a blip in an otherwise bleak pattern.

At this stage, Glenmuick is a horse its the yard will be searching for the right opportunity with — the right track, the right conditions, the right day. Thirty-three winners in a season shows Longsdon can find those moments for his horses. The question is whether Glenmuick can finally take advantage of one.