Struth

The problem is timing. Struth typically competes in some of the better races in Britain — Class 2 level, one step below the very top — and has managed zero wins from 18 attempts at that grade. That is not a disgrace; these are tough fields, and reaching the frame nine times across its career at that level shows it belongs in the conversation. But belonging and winning are different things, and the last victory came at Chester in May 2023, which is now over three years ago. Chester is a famously tight, unusual track where horses that know the course can punch above their weight, and winning there is genuinely something to put on the résumé.

Before that, Struth's first win came at Nottingham in August 2022 — so both career victories arrived in a fairly narrow window, after which the winning has dried up entirely. The last six results read 9-4-10-5-5-6 in reverse, which is a run of mid-pack finishes without anything that looks like a win coming around the corner.

Joe Fanning, who has partnered Struth five times, has won once together — that is 1 from 5, or 20%, which is actually the most productive combination this horse has found. The yard behind Struth is Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore, a respected operation based in Milnathort in Perth and Kinross that has sent out 49 winners already this season — so this is not a struggling outfit. They clearly have horses capable of winning, and Struth raced as recently as yesterday, meaning it is firmly in active training and still being placed in races by a team that believes there is more to come. Whether that belief is rewarded is the open question.