Monoceros

What's telling about Monoceros is the sharp divide between what it can do and where it runs. At Class 4 level—the lower rungs of competitive racing—the horse has won 1 of 3 races, a 33 per cent win rate that hints at genuine ability at that grade. Put the horse in stronger company, and it consistently finishes out of the frame. The recent form reads like a horse treading water: fifth, ninth, fifth again, then third, and most recently fifth just a day ago. That third place finish was the best result in the last six runs, but it is slim pickings on a horse that won so easily at Newmarket once upon a time.

Trainer Iain Jardine, based at Carrutherstown in Dumfries and Galloway, has had a strong season with 57 winners to date, but Monoceros is clearly not yet contributing at the level some of the yard's other inmates manage. The challenge now is figuring out whether this 3-year-old belongs back at Class 4 where it showed it could win, or whether there is improvement still to come if conditions click into place.