Trucial Pearl

The most recent six races tell a story of a horse that can compete. Reading the form in reverse, there is a fourth, then a gap, then a second, then a third, then a sixth, then a fifth. That runner-up finish is the clearest indication that winning is within reach — second place means the horse was beaten, but it was beaten up close, not half a field behind. For a horse yet to win, placing twice in ten attempts is the kind of thread the yard tend to hold onto.

Jockey Joanna Mason has been the regular partner, riding Trucial Pearl six times without a win. Six rides and no winner is not a crisis — plenty of partnerships take time to click — but it does mean the combination is still searching for that breakthrough together. Trucial Pearl races at Class 6 level, which is the entry level of British racing, and has run at that grade three times without winning. At this level, the competition should in theory be most winnable, which makes the wait all the more telling.

Behind the horse is the yard of Michael and David Easterby, based in Sheriff Hutton in North Yorkshire, and they are clearly not short of form at the moment — 55 winners already this season is a serious output and shows a team in good health. When a yard is firing like that, you have to assume the horses that haven't won yet are either unlucky, still developing, or simply waiting for the right day. Trucial Pearl, who raced just yesterday and is very much an active runner, may be all three. At three years old, there is still time on its side.