Lord De Vinci

The level he competes at tells part of the story. Class 5 is the entry level of British racing, the grade where horses who have struggled to win are given the best possible chance to do so. Lord De Vinci has raced there five times and come up short on every occasion. His recent form makes for equally grim reading — a couple of fourth-place finishes sandwiched around a seventh and an eighth, with two non-finishes thrown in for good measure. That is not the form of a horse building towards something.

Jockey Callum Bewley has partnered him six times without a win, and while it would be unfair to single either horse or rider out, it is clear the partnership has yet to click in the way both sides would hope. Bourke's yard is not struggling overall — ten winners this season suggests a team that knows what it is doing — which makes Lord De Vinci something of a puzzle. The horse raced just yesterday, so the yard are clearly still trying, and in racing that persistence occasionally pays off in unexpected ways. But for now, a first win remains the target, and it is still some way off.