St Hilda

What's interesting is the consistency in the form. Looking at the last six races, St Hilda has never finished worse than fourth, which suggests a horse that runs to a reliable standard without quite having the pace to land the big prize. Two second-place finishes show it has come close; the third-place finishes indicate it is mixing with horses at a similar level. This is a horse that turns up and tries every time, even if the win is still waiting.

Trained by Marcus Tregoning, St Hilda is part of a yard that has sent out four winners already this season. That Tregoning continues to run the horse regularly — it raced just a day ago — suggests the trainer sees room for improvement. At three years old, St Hilda still has time to develop, and horses often find a breakthrough moment when everything clicks. For now, the runner-up finishes offer a hint that a win might not be far away, though it will need to find a little extra pace to get there.