Mali Star

Trained by Jack Channon at West Ilsley in Berkshire — a yard that has sent out 46 winners already this season, so clearly no shortage of ability on the team's part — Mali Star is a big, powerful individual who his trainer expects to come into his own over six furlongs. That might sound like a technical detail, but it matters: some horses are built for speed in short, sharp bursts, and Channon believes that's exactly what Mali Star offers. The clue is in the bloodline. His sire, Sands Of Mali, won a Group 1 race — which is as high as flat racing gets — and he did it as a sprinter. If that pace has been passed down, Mali Star has serious tools to work with.

Channon has spoken about being genuinely impressed with him, and when a trainer who has already trained 46 winners this season singles out a horse in those terms, it's worth paying attention. He raced just one day ago, so he's firmly in the thick of his campaign right now. The win column is still blank, but the trainer clearly believes the raw material is there. Sometimes a horse takes time to learn what racing is actually about — and a big, scopey youngster by a Group 1 sprinter finding his feet at three is a story that could look very different in a few weeks' time.