Rialannah

That Fakenham connection is worth noting. Some horses simply click with certain venues — the shape of the track, the ground, something intangible — and Rialannah may well be one of them. Both wins have come there, and the recent form makes for striking reading: two wins and a second from the last three completed races. For a horse whose overall record shows just 2 wins from 19 (roughly 1 in every 10 races), that kind of purple patch stands out sharply.

The trainer behind this run of form is Lucy Wadham, whose yard in Newmarket has sent out 18 winners already this season — a strong return that suggests the whole operation is in good health right now. It is worth noting, though, that regular partner Nick Scholfield has yet to find the combination with Rialannah that clicks, going winless in five rides together. Both of the victories have come without him in the plate, which is a detail the team will quietly be aware of.

The ground appears to matter too. On normal conditions, Rialannah has won 2 of 6 races — that is a 33% win rate, a dramatically better record than on any other surface. By contrast, Rialannah has never won in 11 attempts at Class 4 level, which is the grade this horse competes at most often. That blank is a little puzzling given the recent wins, though it may simply reflect the fact that Class 4 fields are competitive and the margins are fine. What is clear is that Rialannah has found some form at just the right time — active just yesterday and clearly in the form of its life.