Holliesthedollie

The fourth-place finish in that middle race is the one to hold onto. It means she was close enough to the action to suggest there is something there, even if the other two runs were more difficult days at the office. For a two-year-old, a sequence like this is not unusual — young horses take time to mature and learn their trade, and three races is a very small sample to draw firm conclusions from.

She is trained by Jonathan Portman at Upper Lambourn in Berkshire, one of the heartlands of British racing, and the yard is having a productive season with 46 winners already on the board. That level of output from a trainer suggests a well-run operation that knows how to place horses and get results. Holliesthedollie has not yet delivered for them, but she is clearly still being given the chance to show what she can do. Whether she turns the corner and gets off the mark is the question worth watching.