Starryfield

What gives real reason for optimism is where this horse is trained. James Owen's yard at Newmarket has sent out 204 winners this season alone, which is a staggering number — it means Owen's operation is producing winners at an almost industrial rate, and horses in that kind of form environment tend to benefit from it. Newmarket itself is one of the historic heartlands of British racing, a place where serious trainers do serious work, and being housed there is no small thing for a young horse still finding its feet.

At just 3 years old and still racing — it ran only a day ago — Starryfield is very much a work in progress. The consistent placing record suggests this is a horse with ability, one that regularly competes at a decent level and finishes among the best. The step from second to first is often the hardest one in sport, and plenty of horses take time to make it. With a trainer sending out winners at the current rate Owen is managing, and a horse already proving it can compete and place consistently, that first win feels less like a question of if and more a question of when.