Mr Vettori

What's particularly interesting is what happened at Cork just days ago. He was beaten into second place, but not without a fight — he was outpaced inside the final furlong before rallying strongly back at the leader. That kind of resilience tends to get trainers excited, and his trainer Mrs John Harrington, based at Moone in Co Kildare, clearly shares that view. Her yard has sent out 54 winners this season alone, so she knows a horse with potential when she sees one, and she's been candid about where she sees Mr Vettori heading next.

The trainer has spoken about stepping him up in class into black-type company — which in plain terms means the races that carry prestige and prize money significant enough to add value to a horse's name and breeding. She also believes a mile and a quarter suits him well right now, and has floated two specific targets: the Leopardstown Derby Trial or a possible trip to Chester. Either option would represent a significant step up from where he's been racing, but given he's already mixing it with horses who push him right to the line, that ambition doesn't look misplaced.

At three years old and with his form clearly on an upward curve, Mr Vettori is exactly the kind of horse worth keeping an eye on over the next few months — one who has quietly been doing everything right while bigger names grab the headlines.