Diamond White

What gives the story a bit more intrigue is where she came from. The Jonjo and A J O'Neill yard — based in Cheltenham and one of the more active operations around, having sent out 52 winners already this season — picked her up at the Cheltenham sales in March. She arrived from the same source as a horse called Bill Joyce, and the people who bred and raised her rated her highly. In racing, that kind of word-of-mouth matters. Yards as busy as this one do not buy horses on a whim, and the fact that she came recommended from a source they clearly trust suggests there is genuine belief that better days are ahead.

She has been competing at the lower end of the racing ladder so far, in Class 5 races — essentially the entry-level tier — and has not yet managed to win at that level in three attempts. Raced just one day ago, she is very much in the thick of her season right now. Whether a change of approach or conditions unlocks something better remains to be seen, but for a horse that has placed in more than half her races without ever winning, the breakthrough feels close rather than far away.