Le Galli Bier

Trained by Gary and Josh Moore out of Lower Beeding in West Sussex — a yard that has sent out 99 winners this season alone, so they know what a racehorse looks like — the five-year-old has placed in 5 of his 8 races without ever getting his nose in front. That is a frustrating record on paper, but it tells a more nuanced story than it might first appear. He has been competitive regularly enough that his trainer remains optimistic, and crucially, the team around him have a clear plan rather than just hoping something clicks.

Freddie Mitchell has been in the saddle for 7 of those 8 races and is yet to ride him to a win, but the pair have accumulated plenty of those placed finishes together. His recent form reads 5-3-blank-2-2-5 — two runner-up finishes and a third mixed in with a couple of disappointing days. That middle sequence of near-misses is actually encouraging; it says there is ability here, it is just waiting to express itself properly. The blank in that sequence — a poor run at Fontwell — was explained by the trainer as the horse simply being too fresh on the day, boiling over before he could do himself justice.

What gives the stable real confidence is something that does not show up in the form book at all: Le Galli Bier is a half-brother to Le Patron, a horse the yard rates highly, and he has already raced over fences in France. That experience over jumps, combined with the fact that he schools well at home, means the team are seriously considering switching him to chasing. It is a route that could suit him far better than the path he has been on, and at five years old he is at exactly the right age to make that move.

He has been racing at Class 4 level — the middle tier of British racing — and has not won in five attempts there. But sometimes a change of discipline is all it takes to transform a horse. The Moore yard seem to think this could be Le Galli Bier's moment, and with 99 winners behind them this season, it would be unwise to doubt their judgment.