Yorkshire Queen

Tuer, who trains at Birkby in North Yorkshire and has sent out 26 winners already this season, was watching closely at Yorkshire Queen's most recent run just a day ago, and came away genuinely impressed. His view was that she was the best horse in the race — she just didn't win it. That's the kind of thing that can sound like a trainer making excuses, but when it comes from a yard currently in good form, it's worth taking seriously. He's spoken openly about the plan: try to win a less competitive race first, then aim for the restricted series final at Goodwood. That's not a small target. Tuer won the same race last year with a horse called Love Talk, so he knows the route and clearly thinks Yorkshire Queen is good enough to follow it.

Her regular jockey Oliver Stammers has been on board for five of her six races and is yet to ride her to a win, but their most recent finishes — second, fourth, second, fifth, fourth, fourth reading back through the form — show a horse that competes without quite getting her head in front. The two placed efforts suggest she's not far away. There's also a tweak in tactics being considered: Tuer mentioned possibly dropping her back to six furlongs, having found that seven furlongs is fine as long as the track doesn't ask too many questions. That kind of fine-tuning is usually a good sign that a team is working out how to get the best from a horse, not just running her and hoping.

Still only three, and by her trainer's own word better expected next year, Yorkshire Queen reads as a horse in the middle of her education. She hasn't won yet, but she has a clear target, a trainer who has been there before, and a recent run that apparently told him more than the result did.