Alphonsus Liguori

His form reads 1-1-2 across his last three starts, meaning he won, won again, and then finished second—a solid run that shows consistency rather than a flash in the pan. His breakthrough came at Killarney on May 12, and he's now struck twice in less than three months, most recently at Cork. That suggests he's learning what it takes to win and doing it well. He's trained by J P O'Brien at Owning Hill in County Kilkerry, a yard that has already sent out 160 winners this season, so Alphonsus is in an operation that knows how to get horses ready. Only time will tell whether he becomes a proper racehorse or settles into a modest level, but right now, being three years old with two wins and a recent victory in the bank, he's a horse genuinely worth watching.