An underused tool in a punters' armoury - and perhaps the key to the Cesarewitch

We all know horses have their specialist distance. Just look at Sunday's Prix de la Foret winner Space Blues, brilliant over seven furlongs but much less effective over shorter and not even tried over further since he was twice a beaten favourite in early 2019. Or there's Battaash and Caspian Prince, both famous for their exploits at the minimum trip of five furlongs but never successful beyond.

But do jockeys also have their best trips? It's not something I have seen discussed before, yet it could be another strand of useful data to add to the ever-lengthening list when it comes to analysing a race.

You could argue that distance shouldn't matter to jockeys, who are unlikely to get tired if they have to ride for further than a mile and a half, for example, but different types of races often require different skill sets in terms of tactics or different demands in terms of the brute force required.