Busted Springs

The one genuinely encouraging detail here is the team behind it. Trainer R Mike Smith, based in Galston in East Ayrshire, has sent out 25 winners already this season — that is a yard in decent form, and horses trained by people who are winning regularly tend to get the care and placing that eventually unlocks results. Whether Busted Springs has simply needed these first two runs to find its feet, or whether it needs different conditions or a different type of race to show its best, is something only time and a few more outings will tell.

At this stage there is not much to build a case on, but zero from two is not a crisis — plenty of horses need a handful of races before the penny drops. Worth keeping an eye on if the trainer starts placing it somewhere that looks more like a good fit.