Shadowmere

Baker's view of Shadowmere is telling. He describes the horse as "a lovely two-year-old" who showed promise on debut and ran a "nice race" at Sandown, but added that "he just got a little bit tired" in that outing. The Goodwood race—where Shadowmere finished fifth in a 1-mile-1-furlong event behind Poseidon's Warrior, a heavily backed Godolphin runner—was no embarrassment; it was the kind of effort you expect from a raw, inexperienced horse still maturing. Baker's own assessment is candid: Shadowmere is "a big, raw baby" who is very much a project for next year rather than an immediate threat. The trainer's yard has sent out 14 winners already this season, so he knows how to get horses in the winner's circle, and his patience with this particular horse suggests he genuinely believes there is something to look forward to down the line. For a horse still learning and physically developing, Shadowmere's record is less about failure than about the normal bumps that young racehorses hit on their way to becoming competitive.