Independent Expert

The key to her is soft or muddy ground. On a wet track, she wins 2 out of every 5 races she runs in, a win rate that is more than triple her career average. Jim and Suzi Best's yard at Lewes noticed early on that she thrives with a cut in the ground, something she showed repeatedly during her runs at Dundalk before joining the Bests' team. Add a distance between seven furlongs and a mile — the stiff, steady kind of mile that asks questions — and the pieces start to fit. Over those distances on soft ground, she has found form that counts.

Her last win came at Naas in March, where she hit the line hard in a handicap on Royal Ascot trials day. The trainer was candid about his horse: she is tough and honest rather than flashy, a filly that does not carry much weight and needs very little work to be ready. She runs best fresh, and her jockey on that Naas day, taking her back early before letting her finish well, got the best out of her. Five months have passed since then without a winner, though she has picked up places in four of her last six races. Andrew Slattery, who has ridden her four times and won three, knows what suits her. Given the right ground and the right distance, Independent Expert remains a dangerous proposition — not a regular winner, but a specialist who can deliver when everything aligns.