Frescobaldi

The overall record reads one win and three places from six races, a win rate of roughly 1 in every 6 runs, which on the surface looks modest. But the recent sequence — 5-3-5-1-2-5, reading from most recent back — suggests a horse whose form has been a little stop-start either side of that York highlight. The two placings either side of the win show there is consistency lurking in there, but the fifth-place finishes before and after point to a horse that has not quite found a rhythm since that peak.

The strongest version of Frescobaldi seems to emerge over seven furlongs to a mile, where the record stands at one win from four races — that is 1 in 4, or 25%, which is a noticeably better return than the overall career average. Finding a distance that suits is one of the most important puzzles in racing, and this horse looks to have found an answer in that middle-distance bracket.

Trainer Daniel James Murphy operates out of Curragh in Co Kildare, one of the heartlands of Irish thoroughbred racing, and his yard has sent out 19 winners this season — a healthy tally that suggests a stable in decent form. Sending a horse across to York and winning a Class 2 race is not a small thing for any trainer; it requires confidence in the horse and a bit of boldness in choosing the target. That Frescobaldi delivered on the day is a feather in the cap for the whole team. With the horse still only three years old and that York win as proof of what is possible on a good day, there is every reason to think the best may not yet have been seen.