Scary Askari

The form figures — 13-6-8-12-2-6 reading from most recent backwards — tell an interesting story if you look closely. That second-place finish wasn't a fluke buried in ancient history; it's there in the recent sequence, sandwiched between some struggles. The worry is what came after it. Rather than kicking on from that near-miss, Scary Askari has since finished sixth and thirteenth. That kind of regression, running worse after a career-best, is the sort of thing that makes trainers scratch their heads.

Speaking of the trainer, S McParlan is running a quiet operation this season — just one winner sent out so far. The yard isn't firing on all cylinders, which may or may not be relevant to Scary Askari's fortunes. Most of the horse's races have come with Mr N McParlan in the saddle, likely a family connection to the trainer, and together they are yet to find the winner's enclosure across five attempts. That's not a criticism — small, family-run yards are part of what makes racing charming — but it does mean Scary Askari hasn't yet had the luxury of drawing on a deep pool of experience when things get tight in a race.

The horse has had a break of 88 days since its last run, which is worth noting. That kind of short freshen-up is sometimes used to reset a horse that has gone a bit stale, and the most recent run — that thirteenth-place finish — certainly suggested something wasn't right. Whether the time off has done the trick is the question. Scary Askari has the profile of a horse whose the yard believe there is a race to be won somewhere, and that second place is the fuel keeping that belief burning. They just need to find the right opportunity before patience runs out entirely.