Sony Bill

But the paper doesn't tell the whole story. Mullins himself has pointed to a win at Compiegne — the French track — as evidence that Sony Bill can do it when conditions suit. He described him as a "sharp type" with the potential to develop into a Triumph contender, which is about as exciting a destination as a young hurdler can have. The Triumph is one of the most prestigious juvenile hurdle races in the calendar, run at the Cheltenham Festival — so when a trainer of Mullins' stature uses that word, people listen.

The recent form is harder to love. Finishing fifth, then fourth, then a distant fifteenth, then eighth — it reads like a horse still finding its feet, or one that has been aimed at races just beyond its current level. That fifteenth-place finish in particular is the kind of result that makes you wince. But horses trained by Mullins don't tend to drift along without purpose. His yard has sent out 220 winners already this season — that's a conveyor belt of quality — and he doesn't throw around Cheltenham Festival talk lightly.

Sony Bill raced just one day ago, which means this profile is as live as it gets. Whatever happened yesterday is the freshest data point, and how the team responds from here will tell us a lot. If Mullins still believes in the Triumph dream, the next few months will be about finding the right race to rebuild confidence and show what the French form actually means at a higher level. A horse with one placed finish from eight races doesn't look special. But in the right hands, with the right target, the story can change quickly.