Starford

The horse has a very clear profile: he loves a test. Put him on wet or muddy ground and he wins 2 from 3 races, a remarkable 67% record that suggests the conditions most horses hate are precisely where Starford comes alive. Stretch him out to a mile and three or four furlongs, and he has won 3 of his 5 races at those trips — 60% — which is the kind of number that tells you a trainer knows exactly what he has on his hands. O'Brien has described him as "very progressive" and praised the way he quickens up late in a race, which is exactly the quality you want in a horse who does his best work when the ground is holding and the pace is honest.

His most recent win came at The Curragh in April, where he overcame a difficult draw to quicken clear convincingly. The jockey who rode him at Listowel put it simply: Starford was the best horse in that race, and the job was just not to get in his way. That kind of praise — combined with the rider's note that he is "bombproof" and very straightforward to ride — suggests a horse with a genuine, uncomplicated temperament, the sort that shows up and does his job without drama. He raced just yesterday and remains in active training, so there is clearly more to come from a horse O'Brien believes is still improving. His best days, as the trainer puts it, may genuinely be ahead of him.