Sugar Island

She is a 3-year-old trained by Aidan O'Brien at Cashel in County Tipperary, one of the most powerful yards in world racing. That yard has sent out 144 winners already this season — a staggering output that means Sugar Island is competing for attention and resources at the very highest level. The fact she keeps getting her chances says plenty about what the team think of her.

Her overall record reads two wins and three places from six races, which works out at winning 2 in every 6 — a solid one-in-three rate for a horse still learning her trade. Recent form of 4-1-9-3-5-1 tells an interesting story too: that ninth place was sandwiched between two much better efforts, suggesting she needs things to go her way. She raced at Doncaster and Newmarket, and while Doncaster went well enough, Newmarket did not click. But she came back to The Curragh and won a Group 3 — one of the top races in the calendar — and suddenly everything made sense again.

After that Curragh win in October, the trainer's representative was careful to spell out why the horse matters: she stays well, gallops relentlessly, and has the pedigree to match. She is related to Minding, a brilliant champion, and her bloodline traces to a line associated with stamina over longer distances. The team's thinking is that a mile and a quarter — and potentially the Oaks — could suit her perfectly.

On the spring stable tour, O'Brien was direct about her prospects, describing her as a potential Oaks or Guineas type. That is not the kind of language used about also-rans. Sugar Island raced just one day ago and is very much an active part of the stable's Classic plans for the season ahead. A horse who wins a Group 3 at three and has a trainer openly mentioning the Oaks is one worth paying attention to.