Phantom Shadow

What gives the story a more optimistic shape is where Phantom Shadow is trained. Harry Charlton operates out of Beckhampton in Wiltshire, a yard that has sent out 38 winners already this season — a genuinely productive operation, and not one that tends to keep horses in training without reason. When a stable of that calibre keeps running a horse, it usually means they see ability worth nurturing. That runner-up finish, coming just yesterday, will have done nothing to dampen that belief.

The challenge now is converting that promise into a first victory. Five races in and still looking for a win is not unusual for a three-year-old still learning the job, but the clock is ticking. A horse that finishes second without ever having won is a frustrating thing — close enough to suggest the talent is there, not quite there enough to prove it. Charlton's team will be hoping the recent improvement in form is a sign that Phantom Shadow is finally ready to deliver.