Mr Professor

Those three wins are not small beer either. His first came at Pontefract in October 2021 — a Class 1 race, which puts it among the very best races in Britain. His then trainer Alice Haynes was candid afterwards: he had been improving all year, came out of his races remarkably fresh (he had actually put on 8kg since his previous run), and while he was not doing anything flashy in front, he battled to the line when it mattered. She also noted that the straight track at Newmarket had not suited him — he simply never settled there — which is a useful clue to where he shows his best form.

His most recent win came at Doncaster in March 2024, a Class 2 race on ground that clearly had him fizzing. Trainer Dominic Ffrench Davis, who handled him at that point, described it as a supreme performance: Mr Professor travelled easily through the race, and when David Egan finally pressed the button, he quickened smartly and kept finding more. The team were immediately eyeing the Spring Cup at Newbury, conditional on soft ground. That suggests they know exactly what they have — a horse that needs the right conditions to unlock his best.

The honest caveat is that the last 26 months have produced nothing. His last six finishes read 6, 6, 5, 13, 17, 20 — a sequence that tells its own story. He raced just yesterday and is clearly still being kept active, but the form has been flat. Given what his the yard have said about spacing his races carefully and the ground being critical, the question is not whether Mr Professor can win at this level — he already has, at the very top of it — but whether the right wet day comes along before his best days are fully behind him.