Present Times

The numbers tell a modest story. One win from 10 races is a 10% win rate — roughly 1 in every 10 outings ends in a trip to the winner's enclosure. There have been four placed finishes along the way, meaning the horse has shown up in the top three on almost half its starts, which suggests it is competitive without quite being able to close the deal. But recent form has taken a turn for the worse. Look at the last six races and you see finishing positions of 9, 11, 10, 9, 7, and 3 — and that third place is the best of it. The horse has not won in six attempts and is currently finishing mid-pack or worse more often than not.

At four years old, Present Times is in the middle of what should be a productive period. The distance it handles best — around a mile and a quarter — has produced its one win from six attempts at those trips, a win rate of 17%, or roughly 1 in 6. That is meaningfully better than its overall record suggests, so the trainer's job is partly about getting the horse into the right race at the right trip. The yard, run by Tony Culhane and Stella Barclay out of Garstang in Lancashire, has sent out six winners this season, so they clearly know how to get a horse ready to win. The puzzle is finding the right moment for this one.

Most of its races have come at Class 4 level — solid, competitive everyday racing — and at that level it has yet to win from five attempts. That zero-from-five record at its most common class is the quiet concern here. Present Times raced just one day ago, so it is very much an active horse with more chances to come. Whether it can rediscover the form that made Lingfield such a happy hunting ground remains the question worth watching.