Sandscape

Jockey Sam Twiston-Davies has partnered Sandscape more than anyone else, riding it eight times without a win between them. That's a long run of near-misses for a pairing that clearly knows each other well by now. Twiston-Davies is an experienced rider at this level, so the issue isn't the partnership — Sandscape simply hasn't found a way to convert its consistency in the places into a victory. It raced just yesterday, which means it's very much an active project rather than a horse being quietly wound down.

The horse runs mainly in Class 5, which is the bread-and-butter, everyday level of British racing — the entry point, where horses compete without the pressure of big prize money or elite fields. Winning zero from six at that level is the detail that stands out most. These are the races Sandscape should, on paper, have its best chance of winning. That it hasn't managed it yet is the central puzzle of its career. Trainer Henry Daly, based in Ludlow in Shropshire, has sent out 17 winners already this season, so the yard clearly knows how to get horses winning. The belief must still be there that Sandscape can join that tally at some point — you don't keep running a horse thirteen times if you've given up on it.