Bred from Wings Of Eagles, the surprise 2017 Epsom Derby winner who has made a promising start as a sire, and out of a mare by Anshan, At The Wings has an interesting enough pedigree to justify some curiosity. Whether that breeding translates to racecourse ability is the whole question on debut day.
Trainer Norman Lee is a small operation by any measure — just one winner on the board so far this season — which means every runner matters and horses tend to be produced when the yard feel they are ready rather than for the sake of it. That At The Wings has made it to the track at six is unusual; most horses race as two or three-year-olds, so this is a late start by any standard. Whether that reflects patience, a minor setback along the way, or simply the way a smaller yard works through its horses, only the team in Galway will know. What is certain is that today is the first time anyone outside that yard gets to find out what this horse is actually made of.