Botagoz

What makes Botagoz interesting is that success didn't come naturally. When she broke her duck at Kempton Park in December, her trainer R Varian admitted she hadn't shown much at home and caught him by surprise. Now, just four months later, she is working so well that Varian clearly believes she has a shot at serious races. She has her aimed at the Prix de Diane — one of Europe's most important races for three-year-old fillies — and is weighing up earlier warm-up races including the Nell Gwyn or the Fred Darling, both top-class fixtures in the spring. The way a horse develops between winter and summer can be dramatic, and Botagoz seems to be one of those animals that has clicked into gear when it mattered most.

Varian's Newmarket yard has sent out 87 winners this season, so she is part of a genuinely strong operation. At just three years old and already winning consistently, Botagoz looks like a filly with serious potential ahead of her.