Hurricane Leaf

That third-place finish is the one thing worth holding onto. It shows Hurricane Leaf can at least trouble the frame when things go right, even if consistency hasn't arrived yet. With only three races to judge from, it's a small sample — but at six years old, the window for significant improvement is narrowing.

The horse runs out of James Andrew Fahey's yard in Stradbally, Co Laois, and the operation is in decent nick right now, having sent out five winners already this season. Fahey finding the winner's enclosure with regularity suggests the horses in his care are fit and ready — so if Hurricane Leaf is going to turn things around, the platform is there. The horse raced just yesterday, which means whatever happened is fresh in the team's minds as they decide where to go next.