Hot Silk

What works in Hot Silk's favour is the stable it calls home. James Fanshawe operates out of Newmarket, the heartland of British flat racing, and his yard has fired out 44 winners already this season — a number that reflects a team in genuinely good form. When a trainer is operating at that kind of volume, the horses around them tend to benefit from well-organised, confident preparation. Hot Silk may not have troubled the judge yet, but it's learning its trade in the right hands.

At three years old, patience is everything. This is the age where horses can make sudden, significant improvement — physical maturity kicks in, confidence builds, and what looked like a journeyman record can flip quickly. A third-place finish suggests Hot Silk has the ability to compete; it's the step from competitive to winning that Fanshawe's team will now be focused on finding.