Just A Poet

Bourke, who trains out of Waterbeck in Dumfries and Galloway and has already sent out 10 winners this season, has been candid about where Just A Poet fits in. Her debut at Wetherby didn't exactly turn heads, and Bourke has essentially acknowledged she's not ideally suited to the type of races she's been running in so far. That's a useful thing to know. It means her current record isn't really a reflection of her ceiling — she's been learning her trade in conditions that don't play to her strengths.

The plan, according to Bourke, is to switch her to hurdles next season, and that's where things get interesting. Some horses simply need a different challenge to unlock what they're capable of, and Bourke clearly believes there's a better version of this horse waiting to emerge. She raced just one day ago, so she's very much in active training and her campaign is ongoing. With a yard in decent form behind her, the infrastructure is there to give her every chance when the time comes to make that switch.