Dark Cloud Rising

O'Meara, who has sent out 101 winners from his Upper Helmsley yard this season alone, spoke earlier this year about what has changed with this horse. The short version: a surgical procedure has transformed him. "It's probably been the making of him," the trainer said, pointing to the physical improvement that followed. He described the horse as big and scopey — the kind of frame that takes time to fill out — and by the looks of recent results, that development is now paying dividends on the track.

The recent form tells a clear story. Strip away a couple of forgettable efforts (a ninth and a sixteenth) and what you see is a horse that has come back from those blips to win and finish second in his last two completed runs, with his most recent victory coming at Ripon just three weeks ago. He raced again only yesterday, which says something about how well he is in himself. First career wins can sometimes be fluky moments — a soft field on the right day. This one has kept going back and winning, which is a different thing entirely.

At the Class 3 level — one step below the top tier, where competition is solid but not quite elite — Dark Cloud Rising has won 2 from 9, a rate of roughly 1 in 4 at that level. That is a respectable return, and it suggests a horse operating comfortably within his comfort zone rather than one being stretched to his limits.

His most regular pilot is Daniel Tudhope, who has ridden him in 10 of his 22 races and won twice together — a 20% win rate, or 1 in every 5 times they line up as a partnership. O'Meara has also spoken about targeting Newmarket's summer programme with him, specifically on fast, dry ground, which he believes suits the horse best. Given how he has looked in recent weeks, bookmakers at those big Newmarket fixtures might want to take notice.