Gouken

That win rate of roughly 1 in every 6 races (17%) sounds modest in isolation, but the broader picture is more interesting. Gouken has placed in every single race it has ever run — a remarkable level of consistency for a young horse still finding its feet. It has not finished worse than third in any of its six career outings, which means every time it has stepped onto a racecourse, it has come home with something. That kind of reliability is genuinely unusual.

The class picture is worth noting. Gouken has raced primarily at Class 4 level — solid, competitive racing but not yet among the elite — and had drawn a blank there in four attempts before Newcastle finally came good. Breaking a winless run at that level, after finishing on the podium repeatedly, suggests the horse had the talent all along and simply needed things to fall right on the day.

Gouken is trained by Ed Walker, whose yard in Upper Lambourn has been in fine form this season — 75 winners sent out already, which is the kind of number that tells you this is a well-organised, ambitious operation. A horse that wins consistently at a decent level, trained by someone in that kind of form, tends to attract attention. With the season underway and Gouken having raced just yesterday, there is clearly more to come from this three-year-old.