What we do know is the breeding. The sire, Too Darn Hot, was one of the most exciting horses of his generation in Britain — a high-class performer at two and three who has made a strong start as a stallion. The dam's sire, The Gurkha, adds further quality on the mother's side. Neither name is a guarantee of anything, but this is a well-bred horse from a family that knows how to run.
The trainer behind the operation is K R Burke, based at Coverham in North Yorkshire, and that is a genuinely encouraging backdrop for a debut runner. Burke's yard has sent out 145 winners already this season — a remarkable output that puts them among the most productive operations in the country. A yard firing at that rate tends to know when a horse is ready to run, and tends not to waste a debut on a horse that has shown nothing at home. That does not mean Collateral Damage will win first time out, but it does mean the horse arrives with some credibility behind it.
Beyond that, the race will tell us what the breeding and the yard's record cannot. First-timers are always a leap of faith.