Wild Clary

That consistency is genuinely striking. The last six races read 2-4-2-2-3-1, meaning Wild Clary has almost never been far away from the action — just frustratingly short of winning. For anyone who has backed it in those near-miss finishes, that sequence is equal parts encouraging and maddening. The Southwell win, when it came, was a first and only career victory so far, and it came eight months ago now.

What makes Wild Clary's profile a little puzzling is what happens in Class 4 races — the level it competes at most often, which is comfortably mid-table in terms of the quality of competition in British racing. In eight attempts at that level, it has yet to win a single one. Zero wins from eight races at its bread-and-butter class. The one win it does have came outside that pattern, which suggests it may need things to fall just right.

Jockey Sean Levey has partnered Wild Clary eight times — more than anyone else — and the pair have yet to win together. That is not necessarily a criticism of either horse or rider: sometimes a combination just hasn't clicked in the right race at the right moment. Levey is an experienced jockey at Richard Hannon's powerful yard in Wiltshire, a training operation that has sent out 115 winners this season alone — so the infrastructure and quality around Wild Clary is not the problem.

Wild Clary raced just yesterday, which means it is clearly fit and active. A horse with nine places on its record is one that keeps trying and keeps being competitive. The question now is whether it can recapture whatever clicked at Southwell last August and turn one of those placed efforts into a second win.