Antique Blue

What gives the profile a more optimistic tone is who is doing the training. Ruth Carr operates out of Stillington in North Yorkshire and has sent out 63 winners already this season — that is a yard firing on all cylinders, and horses trained there tend to be placed with care and given time to develop. When a trainer of that calibre keeps running a horse that hasn't won yet, it usually means they can see something in the animal worth persevering with. Antique Blue raced just one day ago, so this is very much a story still being written.

At this stage, Antique Blue is a work in progress — zero wins from four attempts, and only one placed finish to show for it. But three-year-olds are young, still maturing, and form that looks inconsistent on paper can simply reflect a horse learning the ropes. The step forward suggested by that third-place run is the number to hold onto. If Carr can find the right opportunity, a first win may not be far away.