Armor Supreme

What's striking about Armor Supreme's form is its consistency at the highest moments. It took its maiden win at Goodwood on May 1st, then notched a second victory this week at The Curragh on August 16th. Between those two wins came a ninth-place finish — the kind of blip that happens to every young horse — but bookended by that ninth are placings and wins that tell a story of a horse learning its trade fast. Of its last four races, Armor Supreme has won two and finished placed twice, which means it's been hitting the board in three of those four outings. For a two-year-old still figuring out what racing is all about, that's genuinely solid.

Dias runs a modest operation at Rathbride, with only three winners sent out this season before Armor Supreme arrived on the scene. The fact that he's already managed two victories with this young horse suggests he's doing something right. Whether Armor Supreme develops into something special remains to be seen — it's still very early — but the immediate pattern is unmistakable: this horse knows how to win, and it's doing so at an age when most of its peers are still getting the feel of the track under their hooves.