Emerald Reine

What makes the situation more interesting is the yard behind her. Julia and Shelley Birkett have sent out 15 winners already this season, which tells you this is a team that knows how to get a horse ready to perform. When a trainer is winning races at that rate, an underperforming horse in the string tends to get attention — there will be a reason they keep running her, and patience from a yard in form is usually a signal worth noting.

She ran just yesterday, so whatever conclusions the team have drawn from that latest effort, they are fresh ones. With two runs now under her belt, the next start will be a much cleaner test of whether she is improving or simply not up to the level she has been asked to compete at. Right now, the record is blank — but in racing, a three-year-old with an active yard behind her is rarely the finished article.