Mystic Moment

The team at Neil Mulholland's yard in Limpley Stoke, Wiltshire, have clearly done their homework on what suits her. Mulholland, who has sent out an impressive 60 winners this season, noted earlier in the summer that she had been finishing second in her early races over shorter distances but looked like she needed a bit more room to run. His instinct proved right — she won over 7 furlongs at Epsom, and her overall record at distances between 7 furlongs and a mile reads 1 win from 6 races, a win rate of around 17%, or roughly 1 in 6. That might not sound dramatic, but it is meaningfully better than her results elsewhere, and it tells you where her best chance of winning lies.

What is interesting about Mulholland's pre-win assessment is how specific it was. He described her leading the pace at Goodwood before being outpaced in the final stages, then staying on strongly behind the winner — a classic profile of a horse that wants a longer trip. Give her room to build into a race and she finishes well. Ask her to sprint and she gets left behind. Epsom's unique undulating track, with its famous downhill run into the home straight, likely suited exactly that style of running.

The slight concern in her recent form is that those last six runs have read 5-3-3-7-6 with a non-finish, suggesting the win at Epsom may have been something of a peak moment rather than a springboard. She has yet to win at Class 2 level in three attempts, which is worth noting. Having raced just one day ago, she is clearly being kept busy, and with jockey Charles Bishop yet to find the winner's enclosure in five rides together, something may need to change for Mystic Moment to recapture that July spark.