Arctic Tsar

The recent form tells a story of a horse hitting its stride. In its last six races, Arctic Tsar has won twice more besides the Kempton victory, finished in the top 3 twice, and had only two runs outside the top-3 finishes — both of them further back in the field. That sixth-place and eighth-place finish earlier in the sequence feel like minor blips on what has otherwise been a sharp upward curve. The horse is trained by Clive Cox at Lambourn, a yard that has already sent out 48 winners this season, so Arctic Tsar is in a stable with genuine know-how. The first win came at Leicester on 8 September, and from there the horse has learned fast. For a two-year-old, this is the kind of trajectory that gets people talking.