Secret Alliance

Trained by Kevin Frost at Averham Park in Nottinghamshire, Secret Alliance operates at Class 5 level — the bread-and-butter tier of British racing, where the competition is modest but still unforgiving for a horse that hasn't clicked yet. Frost's yard has been in decent form this season, sending out 23 winners, which suggests the operation knows how to get horses to perform. The question is when, or whether, Secret Alliance will be among them.

What is perhaps most striking is the consistency of the struggle. Three runs at Class 5 and nothing to show for any of them is a sign that, at least so far, the horse is finding even this level a step too far. The most recent finish — eleventh — is the worst of the lot, and it came just yesterday, meaning the yard are back at the drawing board almost immediately. Sometimes horses need time, a change of conditions, or simply a race that suits them better. Secret Alliance has not found that race yet.