Del Maro

What makes that consistency more meaningful is the stable it comes from. Del Maro is trained by Charlie Appleby at Newmarket, one of the most powerful yards in British racing. Appleby's team has already sent out 121 winners this season alone — a number that reflects not just quality horses but an operation that knows exactly how to place them and prepare them to win. When a horse from this yard keeps finishing in the frame, it is usually by design rather than accident.

Winning 1 in every 5 races sounds modest on paper, but for a horse this young with only five runs to its name, it tells you very little about the ceiling. The more telling stat is that Del Maro has never run a bad race. A form line of 1-3-2-3-2 — read from most recent back — shows a horse that competes every time it steps onto a track. The Great Yarmouth win this week will have given the team plenty of confidence, and with a full season still ahead, the interesting question is not whether Del Maro can win again, but at what level.