TAKE a cursory look at the results of the last three renewals of the final race at Ascot today, the Balmoral Handicap, and you would be forgiven for thinking that the low-drawn horses have been at an advantage.

Last year’s winner of the race, Lord Glitters, raced from stall three (of 20 runners, 23 stalls), while the winner of the 2016 renewal (19 runners, 23 stalls) Yuften raced from stall one, and the 2015 winner Musaddas emerged from stall four (of 20 runners, 23 stalls).

NOT LOW

However, the next four horses home last year raced from respectively, stalls 18, 17, 15 and 23. The horses who filled the minor places in 2015 raced from stalls 13, 12, 18 and 22, and the next four horses home in 2016 raced from nine, 16, 12 and 21. Outside of the winners, then, only one of the 12 horses who filled the places raced from a single figure stall.

The average value for the stall numbers that filled the first five places in the Balmoral Handicap in the last three years is 13.6. So not low at all.