Secret Sniper

The recent form makes for interesting reading. In its last six races, Secret Sniper has finished second on three separate occasions, which is both encouraging and faintly maddening in equal measure. Second place pays nothing in racing, but it does confirm that the horse belongs at this level and has the ability to mix it with winners. The question is whether it can find that extra gear to convert one of those near-misses into an actual win. A ninth-place finish and a fifth are the blots on an otherwise tidy recent record, and with a race just yesterday, this is a horse very much in the thick of things right now.

Behind the horse is the experienced hand of Hughie Morrison, whose yard at East Ilsley in Berkshire has sent out 20 winners already this season — a healthy return that speaks to a stable in good form. East Ilsley is one of racing's quieter but respected training bases, tucked into the Berkshire Downs, and Morrison has a long track record of placing horses shrewdly. Having a trainer in this kind of form matters: when the right race comes along, you'd back the team to spot it.

Secret Sniper remains winless, but a horse that has placed in more than half its races and is clearly fit and active is far from a lost cause. The wins will come, or they won't — but right now, this is a horse worth watching.