Green Pursuit

What makes the picture slightly more interesting is what trainer Seb Spencer says about him. Based at Malton in North Yorkshire, Spencer's yard has sent out 13 winners already this season, so this is a team that knows how to win races — they just haven't managed it with Green Pursuit yet. Spencer believes the horse is still relatively unexplored as a racing proposition, and that he hasn't fully shown what he's capable of. Crucially, Spencer wants to step him up to seven furlongs, which is a longer trip than the five-to-six-and-a-half furlong distances where he's done his best work so far. That distance shift, combined with soft, wet ground if conditions allow, is the plan to unlock something new from him.

His recent form reads 3-5-11-11-2-7, which is a rollercoaster — a solid second sandwiched between some well-beaten efforts. Regular jockey Dale Swift has ridden him seven times without winning, which isn't a crisis but is the kind of stat that quietly mounts pressure heading into the autumn. Green Pursuit raced just yesterday, so he's clearly fit and active, and with Spencer talking optimistically about races in the final stretch of the season, there's clearly a target in mind. Whether the step up in trip finally brings that second win remains to be seen — but this is a horse whose trainer still believes there's more to come.