Femme Fatale

James Tate is no small name. His operation in Newmarket — the historic home of British racing — has sent out 51 winners already this season, which tells you this is a yard that knows how to get horses ready to perform. When a trainer at that level keeps running a horse, it usually means they can see something in the animal that the results sheet hasn't shown yet. Patience tends to be rewarded.

What Femme Fatale's recent form does show is improvement where it counts most. Reading her last six races from oldest to newest — 6th, 4th, 9th, 8th, 5th, 2nd — that finishing second most recently is the best result of her career, and it came just yesterday. That's not a horse going backwards. That's a horse rounding into form at exactly the right time. For a three-year-old who is still learning on the job, finishing second in your most recent race is about as encouraging a sign as you can get without actually crossing the line first.

She hasn't won yet, and that's the honest reality of where she stands. But racing is full of horses that take time to put it all together, and with a supportive yard, a recent career-best performance, and youth on her side, Femme Fatale looks like a horse whose story is still very much being written.