Abletai

That second place is the detail worth holding onto. It shows Abletai can get competitive when things click, even if the other three efforts suggest it hasn't clicked often enough yet. At two years old, that's not unusual — young horses are still learning the job, and a single strong run in four attempts is enough to keep the yard hopeful rather than despairing.

Abletai is trained by M C Grassick at the Curragh in County Kildare, one of the heartlands of Irish racing. The yard has sent out six winners already this season, so there's form in the stable — Abletai just hasn't added to that tally yet. With a race as recently as yesterday, this is a horse very much in the thick of its season, and the team will be hoping that runner-up finish is a sign of better things to come rather than a high-water mark.