Now Then Wendy

She tends to run over longer distances, between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, and has managed that 1 win from 12 races at those trips — about 1 in every 12 attempts at her preferred range. She competes at Class 5, which is the entry-level tier of British racing, meaning these are modest contests rather than big occasions. Even there, she has won just 1 of her 13 races at that level.

Her most regular partner in the saddle is jockey Ben Poste, who has ridden her eight times without a win between them — 0 from 8. That is not necessarily a criticism of either horse or rider; sometimes a partnership simply reflects the available options rather than a perfect match. But it does underline how elusive victory has been for this horse regardless of who is aboard.

Recent form offers little encouragement — her last six runs include no wins, with a fourth place the best she has managed, and her results have been largely unplaced. She raced just yesterday, so she is clearly still active and in training, which is something in itself for a nine-year-old. Some horses at this stage of their career are simply kept going because they enjoy it, or because there is always the hope that the right race on the right day might produce another moment like Southwell in 2023. For Now Then Wendy, that day has not come for a long time — but she keeps showing up, and in racing, that counts for something.