Orion's Bow set to go one place better in Stewards' Cup

Orion's Bow almost won the Stewards' Cup in 2016 for Dandy Nicholls and looks a good bet to go one better for his current trainer, Tim Easterby, next month.

As a sprinter you often need luck in running if you're to prosper and that is exactly what Orion's Bow hasn't had in his last couple of starts.

Two outings ago in the Scottish Sprint Cup he was sent off favourite but could never find any room at all and passed the post on the bridle back in 11th place.

Then last time out in the Gosforth Park Cup it was a similar story as he didn't get a clear run at the two-furlong pole before staying on well into third, albeit too late to win the race.

His handicap mark has barely moved during that time and he is still on a mark of 104, just 2lb higher than he ran off in this race last season.

On the evidence of those recent outings, he's well up to competing off that rating and an entry in the Nunthorpe later in the season, while ambitious, does show that Easterby thinks highly of him.

It is only a matter of time before he regains the winning thread, particularly when sent back up to six furlongs – his last two runs were at five – a distance over which he won four races last year.

He is currently a top price of 20-1 with bet365 and that is worth taking because if he makes it to the race he is likely to be at least half that come the off.

It would be fitting if he won as the late Nicholls, who won this race once as a jockey and three times as a trainer, was the man who really made this horse, and I think he has the class to do it.

Nick Watts is the deputy editor of the Racing Post Weekender – out every Wednesday