Salamina

Trained by Joseph Patrick O'Brien at Owning Hill in County Kilkenny, Salamina is part of a yard that has already sent out 160 winners this season, so there's clearly quality and winning experience around. The yard knows how to get horses home, which means Salamina's struggle so far is about finding its level and the right race rather than working under a trainer without a track record. With racing in the blood and every indication the horse is still actively campaigning — it raced just a day ago — there's clearly a plan in place to keep developing it.

For a three-year-old this early in its career, winless records are not unusual. Many good horses take time to break through, and the fact that Salamina is running regularly and posting respectable finishing positions in each outing suggests the team believes there's a winner waiting to emerge. The shape of those recent results — no bottom-of-the-field humiliations, a couple of solid efforts in the mix — hints at a horse that could be close to working it out.