Gozo

That one win came at Plumpton in September 2023 — now 32 months ago — and by all accounts it was an occasion that told you everything about this horse. His trainer described him as "so gifted and he knows it" but noted that he always does just enough. On that day at Plumpton, Gozo went to the front and then idled close home, not because he was tired, but because he had decided the race was already won. He was right, technically. Whether that kind of attitude makes him easy to love or easy to despair at probably depends on which way you've bet.

The plan after that win was ambitious — a trial at Cheltenham, one of the sport's great stages, was being considered. But a small setback ruled that out, and Gozo has since gone 6 races without adding to his tally. His recent form makes for grim reading: an eighth, two pulled-up or fell runs, a fourth, another eighth, and a second. That runner-up finish is the flickering sign of life in there, and at the level he competes at — solid, mid-tier races — he has won just 1 from 9, or about 1 in every 9 races at that grade. Respectable enough that you can see the ability; frustrating enough that you suspect he's keeping something in reserve.

Smith's yard has sent out 25 winners this season, so the operation clearly knows how to get horses to perform. The trainer has spoken about possibly targeting prize-money races in the US in the spring, where a horse with Gozo's raw ability but low motivation might find smaller fields more to his taste — he apparently thrives when he can dominate from the front without too much pressure. Whether he steps up to top-level company or heads Stateside, the honest assessment is that nobody is entirely sure what Gozo is capable of, including, it seems, Gozo himself.