Yaajooz

The numbers right now are hard to spin. Yaajooz hasn't won in six races, and recent form reading 9-8-7-2-3-7 (most recent first) shows a horse that briefly threatened with a second and a third before drifting back into mid-pack finishes. That said, it raced just one day ago, which means the yard at Sheriff Hutton clearly still believes there's a race to be won here. Michael and David Easterby have had 55 winners this season, so they know what a horse in form looks like — and they're still running this one.

When Yaajooz first arrived at the Easterby yard, the trainer noted two quick runs at Wolverhampton and Southwell, where it finished second and then fourth as favourite, and expressed confidence that a win would come. That win did eventually arrive at Thirsk, but it has now been 22 months since — a long gap that puts into context just how rare those winning moments have been. The overall win rate of 5%, or roughly 1 in every 20 races, means Yaajooz is a horse you back for a place rather than a victory. Whether another win is still in the locker remains the question the team at Sheriff Hutton are clearly still trying to answer.