J Street

The recent form is a little patchy. Reading from most recent backwards: eighth, second, twelfth, seventh, second, third. There are a couple of encouraging seconds in there, but also some heavier defeats — that twelfth in particular stands out. It's the profile of a horse that can get in the mix on a good day but hasn't been able to string consistency together. At its usual level, Class 5 — the bread-and-butter, everyday tier of racing — it has won 1 from 7, which works out at 14%, or roughly 1 in every 7. That's actually a slightly better ratio than its overall record suggests, which at least hints the level suits.

J Street returns now after a break of about four months, which is a meaningful gap and worth watching closely. Horses can come back sharper after a rest, or they can need a run to find their rhythm — nobody outside the yard really knows which this will be until the race unfolds. What we do know is that the team sending J Street out is Michael and David Easterby, a well-established northern yard based at Sheriff Hutton in North Yorkshire. They've sent out 53 winners already this season, so this is a stable that knows how to get a horse ready to run. If J Street is coming back fit and fresh, it's in capable hands.

The one thing supporters of this horse can point to is that Catterick win. It shows J Street can get its head in front when everything clicks. The question after twenty-one months and six winless runs is whether it can find that moment again.