Keep Me Stable

Linda Perratt's yard at East Kilbride has had a solid season with 19 winners, and Keep Me Stable performs best when conditions are normal and the ground is not at the extremes—he has won 4 of 14 races on standard ground, a rate of 29 per cent. He also shows a preference for races at around 1m1f to 1m2f, where he has won twice from eight attempts. When Tommie Jakes is in the saddle, the partnership improves notably: they have 4 wins from 19 races together, a 21 per cent win rate, compared to his overall 16 per cent. That suggests real chemistry between horse and rider.

The most troubling sign is Keep Me Stable's current form. His last six races have yielded only two placings—a third-place finish at the start of that run and another third most recently—with nothing better than that in between. At six years old, he should still be in the prime years of his racing life, yet he looks like a horse in decline after his last win nearly a year and a half ago. For the yard to get him back to winning ways, a return to Musselburgh on normal ground with Jakes aboard would seem the most logical move.