Hosanna Power

That one win came at Newbury in May 2024, over a mile and three to four furlongs — the sort of middle distance that suits it best. In fact, all of its best performances have come at that trip, where it has won 1 from 13 races, a rate of about 1 in every 13. It is not a flashy record, but at least you can point to a specific set of conditions where it has shown it can do it. The problem is it has not done it since. That Newbury victory is now over two years old, and the six races since have brought nothing better than a third place.

Hosanna Power is trained by D Broad out of Summerhill in County Meath, a yard that has sent out just one winner this season — so this is not a powerhouse operation firing in winners from all directions. The horse is most often partnered by David Allan in the saddle, though their five races together have produced no wins between them. The horse typically competes at Class 4 level, which sits in the mid-tier of British racing, and even there it has yet to get off the mark, going 0 from 9 at that level. It raced just yesterday, so it is as active as ever.

What keeps Hosanna Power interesting — or at least worth watching — is that awkward gap between its record and its persistence. Eight places from 23 races means it keeps knocking on the door. It has shown, at least once, that it knows where the winning post is. Whether it can find that form again after two years away from the winner's enclosure is the question that makes it worth following.