Porter's Song

At four years old, there is still time to turn things around, and the yard behind the horse gives genuine cause for optimism. Edward Bethell operates out of Middleham in North Yorkshire and has sent out 59 winners already this season — that is a training operation in seriously good form, the kind of yard that knows how to place a horse and get the best from it. When a trainer is firing in winners at that rate, it suggests the horses in their care are being looked after well and spotted the right opportunities. Porter's Song simply hasn't taken one yet.

What is perhaps most striking is that the horse ran just yesterday and is clearly being kept active. the yard — sorry, the team — are not giving up, and with a trainer this productive, there may well be a race out there that suits. But until Porter's Song finds a way to convert that participation into something more tangible, it remains a horse with a story still waiting to begin.