Joshua's Daylami

What's encouraging is the context around that Punchestown win. Punchestown is one of Ireland's most celebrated jumping tracks, and getting off the mark there rather than at a smaller venue suggests Joshua's Daylami saved its best for a stage worth remembering. Whether it can build on that is the real question, because the recent form figures — finishing eighth, eighth, and ninth in three of its last four outings — paint a picture of a horse that has gone a bit cold since that February breakthrough. The win now sits 16 months in the past, and the races since have been largely forgettable.

At seven years old, Joshua's Daylami is still developing, and there's reason to believe Fahey's team aren't giving up. The yard has been in fine form this season, sending out 24 winners, which means the horses coming out of Cloneygath are fit and ready. A horse in a yard firing like that, still racing actively — it raced just one day ago — suggests the team believe there's more to come. The task now is recapturing whatever clicked on that February afternoon at Punchestown.