Diamond Necklace

Soumillon's enthusiasm is worth paying attention to. He rode her for those last two wins and, by O'Brien's own account, was besotted with her — which is the kind of reaction that tends to mean something when it comes from a jockey of his experience. At Leopardstown she actually got away from the stalls poorly and found herself further back than planned, but when Soumillon asked her to quicken, she simply did it. No fuss, no struggle — just acceleration on demand. That kind of response is what separates a good horse from a potentially special one.

O'Brien is notably struck by how closely she resembles her father, St Mark's Basilica — a horse who only really hit his stride late in his two-year-old season before going on to win some of the biggest races in Europe as a three-year-old. The trainer admits he was surprised she won all three of her juvenile races, finishing the season in the prestigious Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp — one of the top races in France for young horses. She was considered a little young for a race of that size, but the jockey pushed to bring her, and O'Brien was happy to give her the experience before shutting her down for the winter.

She hasn't raced in roughly seven months now, which is a significant break. That kind of freshness, combined with a trainer who has sent out 144 winners already this season, suggests she will return well-prepared rather than ring-rusty. O'Brien has mentioned the French 1,000 Guineas as a possible target, and Soumillon himself has talked about hoping to see her on Arc weekend — the most glamorous fixture in European racing. For a horse who has only run twice, those are lofty ambitions. But a perfect record, a besotted jockey, and a trainer drawing comparisons to one of his own great champions makes Diamond Necklace one of the most intriguing young horses in training heading into the spring.