Red Rifle

The story starts on debut, when Red Rifle was pitched into a £30,000 race at Ripon — a serious ask for a young horse on his first outing. He was far more wound up than anyone in the yard had anticipated, was slow out of the stalls, and spent the rest of the race trying to recover ground he should never have lost. Tuer is candid about it: the horse had done everything right at home, jumping well and working alongside other two-year-olds who then went out and ran creditably. Red Rifle simply wasn't ready for what he found on the track. His recent form figures — finishing 12th, 5th, 5th, 6th, 5th, and 11th in his last six races — tell the story of a horse who is consistently in the mix without ever threatening the front, though that solitary 11th on debut skews the picture somewhat.

What Tuer seems convinced about is the distance. Red Rifle wants a mile, at minimum, and hasn't always had that opportunity. The next step is a race at Haydock over a mile — normal ground conditions expected — in a race restricted to horses rated 80 or below, which is a more realistic level for where he is right now. The yard at Birkby has sent out 26 winners already this season, so Tuer clearly knows how to get a horse ready. The question is whether Red Rifle can translate some of that promise into a performance on the day.

Regular jockey Oliver Stammers has been aboard for five of those six races without a win between them, but that says more about the horse's development than any lack of ability in the saddle. Red Rifle is a project rather than a ready-made racehorse, and Haydock on Thursday looks like the first real test of whether the mile distance and a more suitable level of competition finally allow him to show what he can do.