Ardeen Joy

What does offer some hope is the name above the stable door. Gordon Elliott's yard at Longwood in County Meath is one of the most powerful operations in jump racing, and this season alone it has sent out 209 winners — a genuinely remarkable number that puts the team firmly among the elite in the sport. Horses in that environment are well placed to improve, and Elliott has a long track record of developing younger horses into something useful once they find their feet. After a break of 45 days since her last race, the hope will be that Ardeen Joy comes back a little sharper and gives a better account of herself.

For now, she is a horse with more questions than answers. But being trained by one of the best in the business at least means she is in the right hands to find some answers.