Signora

Her best distance appears to be between seven furlongs and a mile, where she has won 1 from 4 races — a 25% win rate that tells you she is genuinely competitive over that trip rather than merely turning up. Her one career win came at Limerick on 25 April, and her recent form reads 2-1-2-2-9-3, meaning her last six runs have produced a win and four places — the nine being the only real blip in an otherwise consistent sequence. Horses that place as reliably as Signora tend to be frustrating for punters and reassuring for trainers, and O'Brien's team clearly see something worth nurturing here.

What sharpens the interest is the trainer's own assessment. After a run at Naas — her first time up against more experienced rivals — O'Brien noted that she had acquitted herself very well, that jockey Wayne Lordan had been impressed, and that she had thrived since. The destination he flagged was the Albany, a prestigious race at Royal Ascot and firmly one of the top races in the calendar. That is not a race you point a horse at unless you genuinely believe she belongs there. With 144 winners already sent out by the yard this season, O'Brien is operating at full throttle, and Signora is clearly regarded as one worth pointing at a big occasion.

She raced just yesterday, so watch for how she comes out of that run. Everything about her profile — the consistent placing, the trainer's enthusiasm, the target race — suggests a horse on the way up rather than one that has found her ceiling.