Territorial Star

The recent form figures make for interesting reading. Going back through the last six races, Territorial Star has posted 2-2-3-9-6-5 (reading from earliest to most recent). Those two second-place finishes and a third suggest a horse that genuinely belongs on a racecourse and can compete — but the more recent runs, including a ninth and a sixth, hint that something may have dipped. The yard will be hoping that's a blip rather than a trend.

Territorial Star runs at Class 5 level, which is the entry-level tier of British racing — the kind of races where trainers are developing young horses or finding their best conditions. In five attempts at that level, there have been no wins from five races. For a three-year-old, that's not a crisis — horses this age are still learning — but it does mean the yard need to find the right opportunity sooner rather than later.

The horse is trained by the partnership of Tony Culhane and Stella Barclay, based in Garstang, Lancashire. The yard isn't without form — they've sent out six winners this season, so they clearly know how to get a horse to the winner's enclosure. The fact that Territorial Star hasn't joined that tally yet will be a source of motivation rather than despair. Notably, the horse raced just one day ago, so it is very much an active campaign with more chapters still to be written. Whether the next chapter finally includes a first win remains to be seen.