Awaken

That one victory came over a distance Awaken clearly enjoys. She wins roughly 1 in every 4 races when stretched to between 5 and 6½ furlongs, a sweet spot for her talents. The problem has been consistency at the highest level: she has yet to win in three attempts at Class 1 races, the top tier of the sport. Boughey has been candid about last year, acknowledging that she wasn't quite right for much of it. A disastrous run on testing ground at Salisbury illustrated how she dislikes wet or muddy conditions, but she bounced back with an eye-catching performance in the Rockfel Stakes, a significant race she used to rebuild her confidence.

Awaken has benefited from being partnered by Billy Loughnane, who boasts a 20% win rate aboard her—one win from five races together, a markedly better win rate than her overall numbers suggest. The jockey's familiarity could count in her favour as Boughey maps out the spring campaign. The trainer reports that she has made genuine physical progress and her work on the gallops has improved on the previous year, hinting that her the yard believe better days lie ahead. A trial race likely beckons, possibly the Nell Gwyn Stakes, a stepping stone toward the kind of level where she can show what she is truly capable of.