Stoneacre Joe

That trainer is Tim Easterby, who operates out of a large and well-respected yard in Great Habton, North Yorkshire. The numbers there speak for themselves — 126 winners sent out in the current season alone. To put that in perspective, that's the kind of output that places Easterby firmly among the most productive trainers in the north of England. A yard firing at that volume doesn't run horses for the sake of it, and the fact that Stoneacre Joe has been kept busy and competitive is a reasonable signal that the team sees potential worth nurturing.

The honest summary is that Stoneacre Joe hasn't won yet, but the direction of travel is the right one. A horse that goes from finishing ninth to back-to-back runner-up spots is learning, and learning fast. Whether he can turn those placed efforts into a first win remains to be seen, but in the hands of a trainer sending out winners at a remarkable rate, he's in the right place to find out.