Brussels

The horse is trained by Aidan O'Brien at Cashel in County Tipperary, one of the most formidable racing operations in the world. This season alone, O'Brien's yard has sent out 138 winners — a number that speaks for itself. He has been candid about why Brussels has not yet fulfilled his obvious promise: the horse is, in his own words, "very big" and has been "babyish" — essentially, a huge, powerful animal that is still mentally catching up with its own physical gifts. O'Brien has also noted that Brussels needs faster, drier ground to show his best, which has not always been available.

The destination the whole programme has been building towards is the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, one of Britain's top sprint races. Brussels has raced in three top-level Class 1 races so far and has not won any of them — but twice he has come agonisingly close. O'Brien's view is straightforward: every run this horse gets is an education, and the lessons are stacking up. A big, raw sprinter who has already tested himself at the Breeders' Cup as a two-year-old is not a horse you write off because he has not always come out on top. He is one whose ceiling nobody has yet found.