Cactus

The recent form makes for interesting reading. A second and a third in its last six runs show Cactus can get involved at the business end of a race, but the 4th, 5th, 10th, and 12th scattered through that sequence suggest some inconsistency — a horse still finding its feet, running well one day and then disappearing from the picture the next. That's not unusual for a three-year-old still learning the game, but it does mean punters have been left frustrated more often than not.

What works firmly in Cactus's favour is where it calls home. A P O'Brien's yard in Cashel, Co Tipperary is one of the most formidable training operations in the world, and 144 winners in a single season is a number that puts that into perspective — that's roughly one winner every two and a half days. Horses from this yard tend to be placed with purpose, and when O'Brien runs a young horse repeatedly, it usually means the team believes there is ability worth nurturing. Cactus raced just one day ago, so the campaign is very much live, and a trainer of O'Brien's calibre doesn't keep running a horse for the fun of it.

The first win is still to come, but for a three-year-old still developing, trained by someone who has produced some of the greatest horses of the modern era, patience feels like the right response. The pieces are there — it just hasn't put them all together yet.