Hope Queen

The Sandown win in particular showed something beyond raw talent. According to her owner's racing manager Philip Robinson, she was blocked in and had to find her way through the pack before unleashing her run in the final furlong. She did it anyway — and Robinson was left wondering just how good she might be, having already thought she was simply playing with the field at Beverley. That is the sort of comment that gets people excited: a horse that wins without being fully extended.

The reason we haven't seen her since is a stress fracture to the tibia picked up at Sandown. Her trainer K R Burke — whose yard has sent out 140 winners already this season, which gives you a sense of the operation she comes from — describes her as having had a nice rest and picking up well in her work ahead of her return. Burke is pointing her towards a trial at Newbury, which suggests the plan is to use an early-season run as a stepping stone rather than throwing her straight into the deep end.

She returns after roughly nine months off the track as a three-year-old with everything still to prove — and, if the people around her are right, everything to offer. Two runs, two wins, a Class 1 race already in the bag, and a trainer who has her pointed at the big occasions. Hope Queen is a horse worth keeping an eye on.