Barnaby Rudge

The horse's breakthrough came at Nottingham on 11 June, and then six weeks later came a second victory at Newcastle on 27 June. That second win is the kind of thing that gets noticed: horses don't always confirm early promise, but Rudge did. In the three races since that Newcastle win, the horse has run just once — a fourth-place finish that broke an otherwise unblemished record. That was only yesterday, so Rudge is back out racing quickly, which suggests the trainer is confident enough to keep the horse active and sharp.

J R Fanshawe, who trains Rudge at Newmarket in Suffolk, has sent out 44 winners already this season, so this is a yard firing on all cylinders. For a two-year-old with genuine winning form on the clock, and a trainer with a hot hand, Barnaby Rudge looks like a horse worth watching.