Scorsese

What also stands out is how much Scorsese loves a wet surface. On slightly soft ground — conditions where some horses struggle to find their footing — Scorsese has won 2 from 5, which is a 40% win rate. That is a remarkable number. For context, even the very best racehorses in the world rarely win 4 in every 10 races they enter. It means that when the ground is right, Scorsese becomes a genuinely different proposition.

Trained by Neil Mulholland, based in Limpley Stoke in Wiltshire, Scorsese is part of a yard that has sent out 60 winners this season — a serious operation that clearly knows how to place its horses well. There is one curious detail that stands out, though: regular jockey Richie McLernon has partnered Scorsese six times and is yet to win aboard the horse. That is 0 from 6 together, which makes you wonder whether the partnership has simply been unlucky, or whether Scorsese might be waiting for the right combination to click.

Recent form reads: finished out of the places, then third, then won, then second, then fell or was pulled up — all read most recent first. That kind of up-and-down sequence is actually pretty normal for a horse competing at Class 4 level, where the fields are competitive and margins are small. What matters is that the win is recent, the ground preferences are clear, and at eight years old Scorsese is mature enough that the yard — sorry, that the yard — should know exactly when and where to aim him next. A horse with a specific track record, a specific ground preference, and a trainer firing on all cylinders is one worth keeping an eye on.