Green Citation

The most recent run, a tenth-place finish, was a step back from that earlier promise, and Green Citation has now been off the track for around five months. Whether that break was planned or precautionary, we don't know, but returning after that kind of absence always adds a question mark. Two-year-olds can change enormously in a few months, so it would be wrong to read too much into either result just yet.

What does add genuine intrigue here is the stable Green Citation calls home. Joseph Patrick O'Brien, based at Owning Hill in County Kilkenny, has sent out 155 winners already this season — a remarkable output that puts the yard among the most active and successful in Irish racing. When a trainer at that level keeps faith with a horse that hasn't yet won, it usually means they've seen something they like on the gallops. Green Citation may not have a win to its name, but running out of one of Ireland's most productive yards, it is in the best possible hands to find one.