Urban Warrior

The most encouraging detail is in those finishing positions. Reading them from oldest to most recent — 10th, 9th, 6th, 4th, 4th — there is a clear upward trend. Urban Warrior has gone from being well beaten at the back of the field to finishing just outside the placings in its last two races. That is not nothing. It suggests a horse that is learning its job and finding its feet, even if the winning post still feels a long way off.

The yard behind this horse gives reason for cautious optimism. Stuart Williams trains out of Newmarket — one of the great centres of British racing — and has sent out 67 winners already this season, which marks him out as a trainer who knows how to get a horse ready to perform. Urban Warrior may not have delivered yet, but it is not for want of professional guidance. Williams will have noted that improvement in finishing position and may well be plotting a race where the horse can finally break through. With a race run just yesterday, this is a story still very much being written.