Baron Wagstaff

That said, context matters. Three years old is young, and horses at this stage of their development are often still learning the job. The direction of travel in his form — he ran his best race first and has been up and down since — doesn't tell a particularly encouraging story yet, but four races is a small sample and plenty of horses take time to find their feet.

He runs out of the Adlestrop yard of Richard Phillips in Gloucestershire, a small operation that has sent out three winners this season. Phillips is not a name that dominates the headlines, but training winners from a quiet rural base takes real skill, and Baron Wagstaff will be hoping his trainer can find the right opportunity to unlock some improvement. For now, he remains one to watch with cautious interest rather than outright confidence.