Poet Master

The partnership with jockey Sam James has been central to everything. Together they have won 5 of their 9 races — a remarkable rate of more than 1 in every 2. James knows this horse intimately, and it shows. After the Curragh win he spoke about learning to settle Poet Master mid-race, getting him to switch off before unleashing him — and how the horse rewarded that patience by galloping all the way to the line. He also flagged then that the horse felt capable of stepping up in distance, and suggested a Listed race at Haydock as the natural next target. That was not idle talk.

Trainer Karl Burke — whose yard at Coverham in North Yorkshire has already sent out 140 winners this season alone — has been patient and deliberate with Poet Master's campaign. When the horse returned in the Gladness Stakes recently and finished fifth, Burke was quick to explain why: the ground was slow and holding, and Poet Master simply does not handle conditions that deep. He needs some cut in the ground, but not too much. Strip that run out and the picture looks considerably brighter. Burke has already named the plan: the Listed Spring Trophy at Haydock on 10 May, then the Group 3 John of Gaunt Stakes on 31 May at the same track — and he says Poet Master looks stronger than he did a year ago.

The one question mark is at the very top level. In three attempts at Class 1 races, Poet Master has yet to win. But Burke and James both believe there is more to come, and a horse that has been improving steadily across three countries, with a trusted jockey in the saddle and a shrewd trainer mapping out the road ahead, deserves to be taken seriously as the summer approaches.