Al Sayah

The most striking thing about Al Sayah is what happens when the race is long enough to suit her. Over two miles or further, she has won 7 of 15 races — nearly 1 in every 2 — which is a genuinely exceptional record. It tells you she has real stamina and class over distance, the kind of horse that finds an extra gear when lesser horses are starting to tire. Her trainer Neil Mulholland, whose yard at Limpley Stoke in Wiltshire has already sent out 60 winners this season, bought her on spec at a sale and has spoken warmly about her attitude and toughness. That combination — a willing temperament and a trainer in red-hot form — is a powerful one.

Al Sayah has developed a particular fondness for Newton Abbot, winning 2 of her 3 races there, which is the sort of course record that makes punters sit up. Some horses simply click with a track's layout and character, and she appears to be one of them. Most recently, though, she crossed the line first at Nottingham just this week, her latest win in what has been a lively recent spell: two wins from her last six races, with a couple of placed efforts mixed in to keep the yard encouraged.

Her regular jockey Conor O'Farrell has been aboard for six of her races and they have combined for 2 wins together — a win rate of 33%, or winning 1 in every 3 rides, which is a healthy relationship. Mulholland has also noted that Al Sayah's Flat racing mark gives the team some flexibility in placing her, which suggests there may be more wins to come. She is a horse in form, with a trainer firing on all cylinders, and a race record that proves she belongs at this level without any question.