Arrietty

The recent form makes for interesting reading. In five of her last six races, Arrietty has finished second — four times in a row at one point — with only a sixth-place finish interrupting what has otherwise been a remarkably consistent run of near-misses. There is a particular kind of frustration that comes with finishing second repeatedly, but there is also something encouraging about it: this is a horse that belongs at the level she is racing at, and the gap between where she is and where she wants to be looks narrow.

She is trained by Joseph Patrick O'Brien at Owning Hill in County Kilkenny, one of the most productive yards in the sport right now. With 154 winners sent out already this season, O'Brien's operation is firing on all cylinders, and Arrietty is part of a team that clearly knows how to get horses ready to perform. That context matters — when a yard is working this well, even a horse still chasing her first win is in good hands.

At three years old, Arrietty has plenty of time on her side. Some horses take a while to find the right opportunity, the right conditions, the right day. Given how close she has come, repeatedly, the suspicion is that when she does finally get her head in front, it will not feel like a surprise at all.