Moonlit Cloud

At Bath, Moonlit Cloud is a different animal. It has won 2 of its 4 races there, which is a win rate any horse would be proud of. The horse's last win came at that track on 6 May 2024, now nearly two and a half years ago, showing it can still do the business when conditions suit. In Class 5 races — the lower rungs of the ladder — it wins roughly 1 in every 5 races (3 wins from 15), which is a decent return at that grade and suggests the horse competes well when matched against horses of similar ability.

Recent form tells the familiar story of an ageing horse that still races but struggles to find the winner's enclosure. In its last six outings, Moonlit Cloud has not won once, finishing eleventh most recently, then third, ninth, fifth, fourth, and seventh before that. These are not disaster results — the horse is still placing regularly enough to pick up minor money — but they show a animal that is treading water rather than progressing. Ridden most often by Liam Keniry, the pair have managed just one win from six races together, though Keniry has a much better record with the yard trainer Dean Ivory's other horses.

At eight years old and without a win in nearly two years, Moonlit Cloud is the kind of horse that keeps going because it knows no other life and its the yard believe there is still a race in it. Whether that race comes at Bath — where it has shown it belongs — or elsewhere remains to be seen. What is clear is that this horse has found its level, and if it is to win again, returning to the tracks where it has won before would give it the best chance.