On paper, the pedigree offers some encouragement. The sire, Kodi Bear, was a sharp, speedy horse who showed his best form over shorter distances, and he has made a reasonable start as a stallion. The dam's side carries the influence of Holy Roman Emperor, a name that appears in plenty of good pedigrees — he was a classy, quick horse whose offspring tend to inherit a bit of natural pace. Put that together and you have a two-year-old bred to be reasonably forward and athletic, though breeding is never a guarantee of anything.
What does carry weight is the yard sending Red Zodiac out. JP Murtagh's operation at Coolaghknock Glebe in Co Kildare has already produced 53 winners this season — that is not a coincidence, it is a sign of a stable that knows how to prepare a horse. When a yard that busy and that successful bothers to run a first-time-out two-year-old, it is usually because they have seen something at home worth testing in a real race. Nobody knows yet what Red Zodiac is, but the trainer has seen plenty of horses and chose to run this one. That alone makes it worth watching.