Even Tho

That debut victory immediately places Even Tho in the care of one of the most formidable training operations in the game. W P Mullins, based at Muine Bheag in County Carlow, has sent out 235 winners already this season alone. To put that in perspective, most trainers would consider 20 or 30 winners a successful year. When a horse comes out of that yard and wins first time, it tends to get noticed — because Mullins doesn't send horses out unprepared.

It's early days, of course. One race tells you something, but not everything. What it does tell you is that Even Tho handled the occasion, handled the track, and got the job done. The next run will be far more revealing — but for now, the record reads perfectly, and that's not nothing.