Blue Mantle

At just three years old, Blue Mantle is still early in its career and learning the job. That is worth remembering. Many horses take time to put everything together at this age, and a fifth, a second, and a third across three races tells the story of a horse that is improving and mixing it with others at its level rather than trailing home at the back of the field.

The trainer is Charlie Johnston, who operates out of Middleham Moor in North Yorkshire — one of the most productive yards in the country. Johnston's team has sent out 128 winners already this season, which is a remarkable volume and a sign of an operation that knows how to get horses ready to run well. Being trained by a yard firing at that rate is a genuine advantage; when Blue Mantle's moment comes, it will have every preparation behind it to take it.