Noble Honour

What makes the trainer's assessment worth paying attention to is the context she adds. Mrs John Harrington, who operates out of Moone in Co Kildare and has already sent out 54 winners this season — a serious number — believes that debut second came before Noble Honour had fully hit its stride physically. The horse simply wasn't in its best condition yet, still coming through in its coat, as they say. The fact that it ran that well while not yet at its peak is the detail worth holding onto. A horse that finishes second when it isn't quite right yet is usually more interesting when it finally is.

The Harrington yard is not one that wastes time on horses without ability. Fifty-four winners in a season reflects an operation that knows what it has and places its horses carefully. When a trainer of that calibre describes a young horse as "very nice" and talks about progress and nice entries ahead, it tends to mean something more than polite optimism. Noble Honour is one to watch as the season develops — the form so far is modest, but the trajectory points upward.