Noble Blue

What makes the timing interesting is the recent trajectory. His last six runs read 16th, 9th, two seconds, a pulled-up, and then the win — and you have to read that sequence backwards to see the story properly. He came back from two poor runs, rediscovered his form with a pair of runner-up finishes, and then finally converted. That kind of rebound takes something, and Taunton appears to suit him well enough to bring the best out of him.

The man most often in the saddle, Sean Flanagan, had ridden him six times without a winner between them before this week's success — a partnership that had been productive in terms of places but had not quite cracked it until now. Trainer Kayley Woollacott, based at Woolminstone in Somerset, has had a productive season with 16 winners sent out from her yard, so Noble Blue's win adds to a healthy tally rather than being a moment of relief for a struggling operation. Woollacott has built a quiet reputation in the West Country, and a local win at Taunton — not far from home — is exactly the kind of result her yard does well to target. Noble Blue raced just one day ago, so the yard will be taking stock, but the form lines suggest a horse finally running to his potential at just the right moment.