Drop Dead Gorgeous

Yet there are hints of genuine potential buried in these modest figures. O'Brien, whose yard has already sent out 125 winners this season alone, described her at the time as "a lovely big filly" who was "still a baby" but showed real quality. She noted that she was very green in her debut race but took the experience well and stayed on strongly to win. More tellingly, she flagged her as a prospect for staying races and even potential Oaks trials — the kind of races reserved for horses with serious pedigree. The trainer does not talk that way about horses destined for life in mid-tier company. Her recent form — a sequence of mid-field finishes in her last six outings — suggests she is running in the right ballpark but has yet to click into gear again since that opening success. At three years old and still being campaigned regularly, there is room for her to mature and find her feet, particularly over the longer distances that impressed O'Brien from day one.