Trapper John

The recent form makes for interesting reading. That sequence of a second, two wins — wait, no — looking at the last six runs, Trapper John has recorded a pair of second-place finishes and a couple of wins in the middle of that sequence before dropping away in the most recent efforts. In short, there are flashes of real quality in there, sandwiched between quieter days. Racing at Class 5 level, which is the more everyday end of the sport, Trapper John has still not managed to turn those near-misses into a victory, going winless from five attempts at that level.

What keeps the profile from being entirely gloomy is the yard behind the horse. Harry Eustace trains out of Newmarket in Suffolk — one of the most famous racing towns in the world, home to some of the sport's biggest operations — and his team has sent out 23 winners already this season. That is a yard in form, and horses trained by people who know how to get a horse ready to win tend to eventually find their moment. Trapper John raced just yesterday, so whatever Eustace has planned next is not far away.

The honest assessment is that this is a horse whose record flatters to deceive slightly. No wins from ten races at the lower end of the sport is a tough ledger to defend, and at five years old the window for improvement is not unlimited. But three places suggest a horse that competes honestly and finds itself in the action more often than not — it just needs one day when everything clicks. For anyone who enjoys cheering for the one still chasing their breakthrough, Trapper John is very much that horse.