Penny Ghent

What makes that Ripon win worth noting is the context around it. Penny Ghent has spent most of her career competing at the lowest level of British racing, Class 6, and had gone 0 from 16 races at that level before this week's breakthrough. She had been placed four times across her career, so she is not completely without ability — she gets into the frame, she competes — but converting that into a win had proved stubbornly difficult. Her recent form before the victory shows a horse gradually working her way back into contention: a second place, then a sixth, then a string of mid-field finishes, before finally getting her nose in front.

Her best distance is somewhere between a mile and a furlong and a mile and two furlongs — slightly longer than a straight sprint, where a horse needs a degree of stamina to see the race out. At that trip she has won 1 from 13, or roughly 1 in every 13 races, which at least suggests the conditions suit her better than shorter distances. Cam Hardie, who has ridden her five times without a win, was not the jockey to unlock her — though perhaps someone else found the key this week.

Trainer Simon Whitaker, based in Scarcroft in West Yorkshire, has sent out three winners this season, so Penny Ghent's victory will have been a genuine moment of satisfaction for the whole team. A yard with modest numbers works hard for every winner it gets. For Penny Ghent, after 27 attempts, this one was a long time coming.