Vince L'Amour

The other thing that brings out the best in Vince L'Amour is wet weather. On soft or muddy ground, he has won 2 of his 6 races — that's 1 in every 3, a win rate three times better than his overall record. For most horses, rain makes life harder. For this one, it appears to be an invitation. If you ever see his name on a racecard on a soggy afternoon at Ripon, you have been warned.

His regular jockey is David Allan, who has partnered him in 19 of his 37 races — more than half his entire career. Together they have won twice, which is roughly 1 in every 9 rides, slightly below Vince L'Amour's overall average. That suggests the horse is capable of surprising a different pilot too, though Allan clearly knows him well by now.

He runs mostly at Class 4 level, which sits in the middle tier of British racing — competitive enough to mean a win takes real effort, but not the rarefied air of the top events. At that level, his record of 1 win from 11 races shows it doesn't come easy. The wins tend to arrive when the conditions align: the right track, ideally some rain in the forecast, and a horse who has clearly learned where he performs best. Tim Easterby's yard has sent out 126 winners already this season, so this is a busy, productive operation — but Vince L'Amour has carved out his own little niche within it, and right now, with a win on the board just days ago, he is very much in form.