Hambelton

That first career win came at Cork on 14 June, just four weeks ago, and it arrived over a distance of between a mile and a furlong and a mile and two furlongs — a range where Hambelton has now won 1 from 4 races, making him twice as likely to win at that trip as he is across his career overall. Finding the right distance can be transformative for a young horse, and it looks like the team at Bansha may well have found his sweet spot.

Hambelton is trained by David Marnane, whose yard in Co Tipperary has been in fine form this season with 21 winners already on the board. That kind of output suggests a yard that knows what it is doing with its horses, and it is worth noting that Hambelton's breakthrough win came during this productive run. His most regular partner in the saddle has been Luke McAteer, who has ridden him five times without getting that winner — though the Cork success will have changed the mood considerably. Hambelton raced just yesterday, so he is very much in the thick of his season, and with a horse who appears to be improving race by race at a distance that suits him, there is every reason to think the best is still ahead.