Fillipas

She is trained by Rod Millman at his yard in Kentisbeare, Devon, a stable that has sent out 42 winners already this season — which tells you this is not a small operation making up the numbers. Millman knows what he is doing, and he clearly thinks Fillipas has something worth nurturing. He has described her as a very nice, strong horse who shows a lot of speed at home, and he is targeting her at the Super Sprint — a race specifically for fast two-year-olds — which says plenty about how highly she is regarded. His plan is to get one more run into her before that big day, using it as a tune-up rather than an end in itself.

There is one important caveat worth understanding. Fillipas is by a stallion called Coulsty, and Millman is candid that horses from this bloodline tend to need a bit of time to mature. She is still described as slightly on the weak side, which in racing terms simply means she is still filling out physically — a young horse still growing into herself. The fact that she is already running second in races despite not yet being the finished article is actually the most interesting thing about her. If she keeps improving as Millman expects, the Super Sprint could be quite the introduction.