Master Dancer

The numbers become slightly more interesting when you look at where Master Dancer performs best. In longer races of two miles and beyond, where stamina matters more than raw pace, the horse has won 1 from 15 starts — a 7% win rate, nearly double the career average. That single win came at one of those longer distances, which suggests that is where the horse is most effective. In Class 4 races, the middle ground of British racing, Master Dancer has won 1 from 9 (11%), again well above the career rate. It is a pattern: put the horse in the right type of race and it is twice as dangerous.

Harry Bannister, the horse's most frequent jockey, has ridden Master Dancer 12 times and won once, an 8% win rate that reflects the overall difficulty of getting this horse across the line. The trainer Richard J Bandey, based at Tadley in Hampshire, is having a productive season with 14 winners from the yard. Master Dancer was active as recently as yesterday, so it remains in regular work despite the long drought since that October 2022 victory. The recent form — places at 9th, 8th and 11th — shows the horse is competitive in the places where it races, just not quite competitive enough to win.