Skellig Isle

What makes that Nottingham win worth remembering is how it came about. Philip McBride, who trains Skellig Isle out of his Newmarket yard, had described her early days as something of a handful — she was apparently a "bucking bronco" on her first start at Sandown, the kind of debut that makes you wonder if a horse will ever settle. She did settle, ran a solid fourth at Kempton, and then went to Nottingham and won over five furlongs. McBride had spoken warmly about his jockey's belief in her at the time, comparing the partnership to a previous horse, Roman Mist, who had worked well together a couple of years earlier. It suggested a team that felt they had something to work with.

The trouble is, the promise of that summer day at Nottingham hasn't quite been built on. At Class 5 level — the kind of races that sit towards the lower end of the sport's pecking order — Skellig Isle has run seven times and not won once. That's not a record that marks her out as a horse ready to step up in class. McBride's yard has been in decent form this season, sending out 12 winners, so the support and expertise is there. But at four years old and racing just yesterday, Skellig Isle is still very much a work in progress — a horse with one shining moment on her record and a persistent question mark over whether she can find another one.