Handshake

Trained by Joseph Patrick O'Brien at Owning Hill in County Kilkenny, Handshake operates in a high-calibre yard that has saddled 160 winners already this season. That level of firepower suggests the trainer knows what he is doing with young horses, and the fact that O'Brien has persisted with Handshake through recent disappointing runs indicates he still sees something to work with. The horse raced just a day ago, so it remains active and clearly eligible for a quick turnaround if the yard sees an opening. With form and form consistency still being questions, Handshake is the kind of young prospect who needs to recapture the spark that showed at Dundalk—and do it soon if it is going to establish itself as anything more than a one-win wonder.