Ziggy's Triton

The pattern is clear: give this horse fast, dry ground and he becomes genuinely difficult to beat. On quick surfaces he has won 2 of his last 4 races — a 50% win rate that jumps out of the page. Put him anywhere else and he struggles. At Musselburgh he has found the track to his liking, winning twice in four runs there, suggesting he suits that course's particular demands. In Class 5 races — the bread-and-butter level of the sport — he has managed just 1 win from 10 attempts, which points to a horse that needs the right set of conditions rather than one that dominates his peers outright.

His most recent win came at York six weeks ago, and his form since has been mixed: a third-place finish, then a run of middling efforts culminating in his most recent outing just yesterday. O'Meara has identified him as a sprinter, a quick horse best suited to 5-furlong races, and said he needs not just dry ground but the right draw in the stalls and a pace that suits him. It is the kind of specific assessment that suggests the trainer knows exactly what this horse needs to succeed. Raced by jockey Daniel Tudhope, they have not yet found a winning combination — 0 from 5 together — but with the right ground, the right distance and the right conditions, Ziggy's Triton has shown he can deliver.