Diego Ventura

That Ascot win, however, is worth lingering on. Winning at one of Britain's most famous tracks in a Class 2 race — one of the top races in Britain — is genuinely no small thing. It told you this horse belongs at a high level, and it followed his very first career win at Naas in Ireland just weeks earlier. Two wins in quick succession, including a top-level British contest: Diego Ventura came of age fast.

The difficulty is what has happened since. He has raced five times in Class 1 company — the very highest level — and has not won once from any of those attempts. When you look at his recent form, which reads 7-2-3-3-2-2 from his last six races, there is actually plenty to like. He has been placed in five of those six runs, finishing second or third repeatedly. He is consistently competitive. He just cannot quite get his nose in front at this grade, and the gap between placing and winning at the top level is exactly what separates a very good horse from a great one.

Where he looks most dangerous is over shorter distances — between five furlongs and six and a half furlongs. Over that range, he has won 2 of just 3 races, a remarkable two-in-three success rate that suggests trip matters a great deal for him. His regular partner James Doyle has ridden him in 5 of his 8 races, winning once together. Al Jehani's yard has been in good form this season with 18 winners sent out, and Diego Ventura raced just yesterday, so he is very much in the thick of his campaign. The question now is whether the yard — sorry, whether the team — can find a race where everything clicks again the way it did at Ascot.