Saint Lawrence

That Ascot win was trained by Archie Watson, who noted afterwards that Saint Lawrence had always shown plenty at home — the talent was never in doubt, it was just a matter of getting the job done on the day. Jockey Hollie Doyle, who has ridden him in 9 of his 24 races and won on him once (roughly 1 in every 9 times they've lined up together), later described a run at Deauville as "an absolute stormer", adding that she believed a stronger pace would have seen him nearly win at Group 1 level — the very top tier of international racing. That is a significant thing to say about a horse whose career record looks, on paper, fairly modest.

He is now trained by Kevin Ryan at Hambleton in North Yorkshire, a yard that has sent out 45 winners this season alone, so Saint Lawrence is in capable hands. His recent form makes for grim reading — finishes of 22nd, 20th, 7th, 10th, 9th, and 2nd in his last six races — but that runner-up finish is a reminder that he can still get competitive when things fall right. He typically runs in Class 2 company, among the better horses in the country, and has won 1 from 13 at that level (roughly 1 in every 13 races), which tells you both how tough his life is and how well he was placed when he finally broke through.

It has now been 35 months since that Ascot win. For most horses, a gap that long without a victory would suggest the best days are behind them. But Saint Lawrence is the kind of horse whose occasional flash of genuine quality — a near-miss at the highest level in France, a clean win at Ascot — keeps the people around him interested. He raced just yesterday, which means the team clearly hasn't given up on him finding that form again.