Intenzo

The recent form makes for interesting reading. In its last six races, Intenzo has finished 4th, 2nd, 2nd, 5th, 4th, and 6th (reading from most recent backwards). Those back-to-back second-place finishes suggest a horse that was genuinely competitive for a spell — close enough to win, just not quite good enough on the day. Since then, however, the form has dipped, and a sixth-place finish last time out is not the direction you want to be heading. The horse raced just yesterday, so the yard will have very fresh information to work with.

Jockey Jamie Hamilton has been the regular partner, riding Intenzo in five of its nine races without managing a win between them. That is not necessarily a damning reflection on either horse or rider — sometimes a combination just hasn't clicked — but five attempts together with no return is a number that will be hard to ignore for much longer. The yard, meanwhile, is in decent health: Mark Walford's operation up in Sheriff Hutton, North Yorkshire, has sent out 35 winners this season, which shows there is plenty of ability flowing through the stable. Intenzo just hasn't been the one delivering it.

At Class 4 level — which is mid-table racing, not the glamour end of the sport — Intenzo is 0 from 3, suggesting it hasn't dominated even at the level it most often competes at. The task now is simple to describe, if not to achieve: find a race where the conditions and the competition align in its favour, because the placed finishes prove it can be competitive. The win, sooner or later, needs to come.