Bassrah

What's worth noting is how fresh this horse is. It raced just yesterday, which means it is very much in the thick of its early education. Two-year-olds are essentially teenagers finding their feet, and plenty of good horses take several runs before everything clicks. The second place tells you Bassrah can compete — it just hasn't found the winning thread yet.

The trainer is Charlie Fellowes, who operates out of Newmarket — the spiritual home of British flat racing, a town where the horses arguably outnumber the people. Fellowes has sent out 20 winners already this season, which marks him out as a yard in decent form and worth following. Horses from a trainer running hot tend to show up ready to race, and that's a decent environment for a young horse still working things out. Whether Bassrah turns that promising second into a win soon is the question — but with a live trainer and youth on its side, it would be no surprise to see this one's profile look rather different in a few months.