Matthias

He typically runs at Class 4 level, which sits in the middle of the racing ladder — not the glamour end, but competitive enough that nothing comes easy. He has gone winless in all three races at that level, and his recent form makes for mixed reading: a couple of mid-pack finishes bookend that promising second place, and a pulled-up run (marked by the dash in his record) suggests there have been days where things simply haven't gone to plan.

What works in his favour is the yard behind him. Anthony Honeyball trains out of Mosterton in Dorset and has sent out 50 winners already this season — a serious tally that marks the team out as one worth following. A trainer operating at that level knows how to place a horse and when to pull the trigger, so the fact that Matthias is still actively racing suggests the team believes there is a race to be won with him somewhere. For a horse still searching for that first victory at seven years old, finding the right opportunity is everything — and with a trainer in this kind of form, the hope is that moment might not be too far away.