Giant Sequoia

That debut third place showed promise, but the win at The Curragh this week was the confirmation. The Curragh is Ireland's most prestigious flat track, the place where the country's best horses are regularly put to the test, so winning there at the first opportunity is no small thing for a two-year-old still learning the job.

Behind Giant Sequoia is the yard of A P O'Brien, based in Cashel, Co Tipperary — one of the most formidable training operations in world racing. With 125 winners already sent out this season alone, O'Brien's stable doesn't tend to waste its time with ordinary horses. The fact that Giant Sequoia has been given a run at The Curragh at this early stage suggests the team sees real ability here. Horses don't get those opportunities by accident.

It is very early days, of course — two races is a small sample and the road ahead is long. But a two-year-old that wins on one of Ireland's biggest stages, trained by someone who has shaped some of the greatest horses of the modern era, is absolutely worth keeping an eye on as the season develops.