Dorset

What makes Dorset genuinely interesting is what happened at the end of last season. He won his last two races — the Goffs Million and then a Group 3 race over seven furlongs at Leopardstown in October — finishing the year on a high and showing he could handle serious company. Jockey Jack Cleary was notably cool after that Leopardstown victory, saying he always felt he'd hold off the runner-up. That kind of confidence from the saddle usually means something. The Curragh, Ireland's most important flat track, has also become something of a home for him: two wins from four races there, which is a remarkable return given how competitive those fields tend to be.

His early runs at The Curragh shaped a lot of what we know about him. Cleary described him jumping cleanly, racing happily out in front, and staying tough all the way to the line — the kind of horse that isn't just fast, but actually enjoys the fight. The trainer's team noted after that win that he looked like a genuine Group-level horse, good enough to take on the Dewhurst, one of the most prestigious two-year-old races in Britain.

Now three, the ambitions have only grown. The O'Brien team has spoken about pointing him toward a Derby preparation, and has floated the French Derby as a real possibility — a race run over a mile and a half in Paris that attracts the best staying three-year-olds in Europe. Having raced just 1 day ago, Dorset is clearly fit and active heading into what could be the biggest months of his career. Recent form shows a ninth and a seventh before back-to-back wins, which suggests a horse that found its rhythm mid-season and has been building since. The next few months will tell us whether he's a very good horse or a great one.