Hoseki

The real story is in the momentum. Hoseki won at Redcar in May to break its duck, and since then it has barely put a foot wrong. A fourth-place finish four races ago is the only blemish on recent form; everything else has been a win or a second. Most tellingly, it won just this week at Newmarket on October 3rd, suggesting Haggas has this horse firing right now. The Newmarket victory is particularly significant because it shows Hoseki can perform at one of Britain's most demanding tracks, where the best horses in the country regularly compete.

Haggas, whose Newmarket yard has already sent out 170 winners this season, clearly has something special on his hands. With the bulk of Hoseki's success coming over the past few months, this horse is building the kind of record that catches the eye of bigger races. Still only three years old with five wins already, Hoseki has time and form on its side—and for a horse that barely puts in a bad run, that is exactly the position any owner wants to be in.