THE problem for the advocates of trainer form is that it does not give you an edge. By the time it has been recognised that a particular trainer is operating below his usual strike rate, he or she is back in form.

It is also an inexact science, perhaps best filed in the ‘guesswork’ drawer. If a trainer with a high strike rate has a quiet couple of weeks, it takes a leap of faith to infer he or she is out of form and out of form needs to have a cogent explanation if it is to be believed.