Timefortom

Those two places came back-to-back earlier in its career, finishing second on both occasions, which would have raised hopes in the yard that a win was just around the corner. It hasn't materialised yet. Since then, four consecutive races without even getting into the frame — represented by those dashes in the form — paint a picture of a horse that has either struggled to build on early promise or simply hasn't found its best form consistently. With no wins from six attempts, the win rate sits at zero, which at six years old starts to raise genuine questions about whether a change of approach is needed.

The class of race Timefortom tends to enter — Class 4, which sits in the lower-to-middle tier of British racing — isn't exactly the deep end of the pool, yet the horse has still come up short in all four appearances at that level. That said, Russell and Scudamore have been in fine form this season, sending out 49 winners from their yard, which shows they know how to get horses to the track ready to perform. A stable in that kind of form doesn't tend to lose faith in a horse lightly, and the fact that Timefortom was out racing just one day ago suggests the team still believes there's a race to be won somewhere.

Whether that belief is rewarded remains to be seen. Two places from six races at least shows the horse has run respectably before — it isn't completely without hope. But for Timefortom, the clock is ticking. A breakthrough win would change the story entirely; another blank and the questions will only get louder.