Gewan

What makes Gewan's story particularly compelling is where those wins have come. This is not a horse padding its record against modest opposition. Two of its three victories have come in Class 1 races — the very highest tier of racing in Britain — at two of the sport's most prestigious venues. York in August, then Newmarket in October: two cathedrals of the sport, both conquered within the space of eleven weeks. Winning once at that level takes talent. Winning twice in the same season, as a three-year-old still maturing, is the kind of thing that gets people genuinely excited about a horse's future.

Behind the horse stands Andrew Balding's yard at Kingsclere in Hampshire, one of the most productive training operations in the country right now. Two hundred and four winners in a single season tells you this is not a stable that stumbles upon success — it is built on it. Balding's team know exactly what they have in Gewan, which is likely why they have been patient. The horse has not raced for roughly five months, since that Newmarket victory in October, and returns now having had time to grow and strengthen over the winter. Racehorses that come back from a break with a record like this tend to attract a great deal of attention.

The obvious question is what comes next. A horse that wins at 67% in the top tier of British racing — two wins from three attempts at the highest level — does not have much left to prove at this stage of its career. The bigger prizes, the kind that define a horse's legacy, are the logical next step. Whether Gewan can make that leap from promising three-year-old to genuine star is the story worth following this season.