Sangreal

What gives the profile real interest is where Sangreal is trained. Joseph Patrick O'Brien's yard at Owning Hill in County Kilkenny has sent out 160 winners this season alone — that is a remarkable volume of success and puts it among the most productive operations in Irish racing. Horses that come out of a yard firing at that rate tend to be well-prepared and placed carefully, which means Sangreal's the yard know exactly what they are doing with it. The step up from third to second in just two races suggests the team are pointing it in the right direction, and with only a day since its last run, this is a horse very much in the middle of its story rather than at the end of one.

Two races is a tiny sample, and 0 wins from 2 tells you less than you might think at this stage of a young horse's career. What matters more is the trajectory — and going third, then second, is the right shape. The next race could be the one.