Darkness

David O'Meara trains him out of Upper Helmsley in North Yorkshire, and O'Meara is in the form of his life right now — his yard has sent out 102 winners already this season, which is a serious operation. Even so, he has spoken candidly about Darkness being "a law unto himself," a horse who can run brilliantly one week and then seem entirely disinterested the next. When he is asked to race prominently he tends to perform, but if he gets shuffled back into the field, he has a habit of forming his own opinions about how hard to try. Jockey Hollie Doyle, after riding him at Epsom, put it well: he has plenty of ability, it is just a matter of getting it out of him.

The key to unlocking him appears to be dry ground. On fast, dry ground he has won 4 of his 16 races — 25%, or 1 in every 4 — which is a dramatically better figure than his overall record suggests. Strip away the wet days and the soft ground performances and you find a different horse entirely. His regular partner Jason Watson has ridden him 13 times and won once together, which underlines just how inconsistent he can be even for someone who knows him well.

At eight years old and racing just yesterday, Darkness is still very much in the picture. His recent form reads 6-7-18-1-4-9, meaning he has been largely unspectacular since that Goodwood win eight months ago — but there was a win buried in that sequence, and on the right day with fast ground under his feet, he has shown he can still compete at a high level. Keeping faith with him requires patience. Occasionally, he makes it worth it.