Crooked Path

The recent form backs that up. Looking at the last six races — second, sixth, second, third, third, and now a win — there is a clear pattern of consistency with one blip in the middle. Horses that place this regularly without winning can be frustrating to follow, but they are also the kind that tend to reward patience when the right race comes along. Tramore, it turns out, was that race.

Over long distances, two miles and beyond, Crooked Path has found its best level. One win from ten races at that trip works out at 10%, which sounds modest but is meaningfully better than its overall record. Stamina races tend to suit a horse with a grinding, relentless style rather than an explosive one, and that profile fits everything we know about how Crooked Path has been running.

The yard behind it is Denis Gerard Hogan, based in Cloughjordan in County Tipperary, and it is a team in fine form — 56 winners sent out already this season, which is the kind of volume that tells you this is a professional, busy operation that knows how to place a horse. The regular rider, Daniel King, had not managed to get Crooked Path to the line first in seven attempts together before this week, which makes the Tramore win feel like something of a release for everyone involved. Whether this is the start of a new chapter or a hard-earned one-off, only time will tell — but given the form coming into it, backing that day would not have felt like a leap of faith.