Al Riffa

That patience is something jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle knows well. The pair have won 4 of their 9 races together — a win rate of 44%, or close to every other time they line up — and after their Curragh win McMonagle was effusive: he said Al Riffa relaxes beautifully in a race, has a sharp turn of foot when asked, and felt like he could handle stepping up in distance. "The world is his oyster," was his verdict, and given they've won together nearly as often as not, that's worth taking seriously.

Trainer Joseph Patrick O'Brien, whose yard at Owning Hill in Co Kilkenny has sent out an extraordinary 171 winners this season alone, has been unapologetically positive about Al Riffa's prospects. Earlier this year he pointed to a drop in grade as the key, noting the horse had been running consistently well at the top level and that a small step down in class should give him a genuine chance of winning again. It's the kind of quiet confidence that comes from knowing a horse inside out.

The overall career numbers back up that confidence. Four wins and 8 places from just 10 races — that's a 40% win rate, or 4 in every 10 times out — is a remarkably clean record. Many racehorses run 30 or 40 times and win twice. Al Riffa has barely put a foot wrong. His best distance appears to be between seven furlongs and a mile, where he's won 2 from 3 attempts, and with the horse still active — he raced just yesterday — there is clearly more to come. He is, as his jockey said, a horse that owes nobody anything. But by the looks of it, he isn't finished paying out just yet.