Livano Bello

The recent form tells an interesting story. Reading the last six runs from oldest to most recent — second, third, fifth, third, second, and then a blank most recently — there is a horse that tends to be competitive but not quite good enough to seal the deal. The fifth-place finish sits there like a blip in an otherwise steady pattern of near-misses. Raced just yesterday, Livano Bello is very much an active proposition rather than a fading one.

Brian Hughes, one of the most experienced jump jockeys in the north of England, has been in the saddle for all six of those recent runs and is still waiting for his first win aboard the horse. That is not necessarily a damning reflection on either party — Hughes would not keep getting the ride if the team had lost faith — but it does underline how consistently Livano Bello has fallen just short. Zero wins from six attempts together is a partnership that knows each other well and has not quite found the key yet.

The trainer is Micky Hammond, whose yard in Middleham, North Yorkshire, has sent out 25 winners already this season — a stable in decent form, in other words, and one that clearly knows how to get horses winning. Livano Bello competes almost exclusively at Class 5, which represents the entry level of British racing. These are not big occasions or famous prizes, but they are competitive enough that finishing second or third repeatedly still counts for something. The slightly frustrating thing is that if any horse looks like it ought to be able to graduate from consistent placer to winner at this level, it is one finishing in the top three as often as this one does. Hammond and Hughes will know that better than anyone.