Jet To Vegas

What made it particularly striking is that Kelso is a right-handed track, and Russell admitted afterwards that the horse naturally prefers going right-handed — yet when tiredness crept in late in the race, it started jumping straight. That is actually a good sign: a horse that drifts under pressure but still wins is one with reserves to tap. Russell left the track talking about Aintree, which tells you everything about how seriously she was taking this horse's potential.

Since that peak, Jet To Vegas has not won in its last six races, and a run just yesterday means the team are keeping it busy. The recent form shows a pair of second-place finishes mixed in with some less inspiring outings, and at Class 2 level it has gone 0 from 3 — the step up in class has found it out so far. But context matters here. Russell described a recent runner-up finish at Perth as bumping into a genuinely good horse, and she noted the horse can still look a little inexperienced over fences at times. For a chaser still learning its trade, that is not a red flag — it is a reason for optimism.

Russell and Scudamore's yard has sent out 49 winners this season, so this is a team that knows a good horse when they have one. The trainer's assessment is blunt and enthusiastic: she thinks Jet To Vegas stays well, may have more stamina to unlock beyond two and a half miles, and that graded races — the prestigious end of the calendar — could suit it. A horse that wins a Class 1 on just its second-ever win, trained by a yard firing on all cylinders, with a trainer already eyeing the big occasions. That is a profile worth watching.