Devon Angel

The recent form tells a story of a horse finding its level. A finishing position of seventh on debut, then eleventh, then sixth, and most recently third shows a gradual climb up the rankings, with that latest third-place effort the most encouraging sign yet that Devon Angel is starting to work things out. Horses at this age are still learning the job — what it means to race, how to settle, when to quicken — and improvement from run to run is exactly what you want to see.

Devon Angel is trained by Rod Millman, whose yard is tucked away in Kentisbeare, Devon. Millman is no small operation — 42 winners sent out already this season is a genuinely productive return, and it tells you the team knows what they're doing. A trainer running at that kind of volume tends to understand which horses need patience and which are ready to fire, and the fact that Devon Angel keeps getting entries suggests Millman sees something to work with here.

At two years old and with only four races in the bank, it would be wrong to write any conclusions just yet. Devon Angel raced just one day ago, so this is an active campaign very much in motion. The first win could be closer than the record implies.