Perfect Scoundrel

Trained by Amanda Perrett at Pulborough in West Sussex, Perfect Scoundrel remains an active runner — he was last out just a day ago — but it has been seven weeks since his last victory. His form in that stretch has been patchy. In his last six races, moving backwards from most recent, he finished eighth, then sixth, third, second, first, and fourth. That second place and the fourth show he is capable of running well between starts, but the eighth and sixth are warning signs that he does not always find his form. He is a horse who needs things to align — the right distance, the right ground, perhaps the right race — and when they do, he can surprise. When they do not, he often finds himself in the middle of the field, just another runner in the pack. For now, Perfect Scoundrel remains a mid-range performer with one good memory and the lingering sense that there may be another win waiting somewhere down the line.