Killavia

What makes Killavia's profile more interesting than her bare numbers suggest is what happened after that win. She had been favourite for a significant race at Newbury — the St Hugh's Stakes, one of the better races for young horses of her age and sex — only for a stable accident the night before to rule her out. She got cast in her box, meaning she became trapped against a wall and injured herself, and she was never quite herself again for the rest of that season. Those four disappointing runs that followed — finishing ninth and tenth in two of them — suddenly make a lot more sense. She wasn't a horse in decline; she was a horse dealing with the after-effects of an unlucky setback.

Rod Millman, who trains her from his yard in Devon and has sent out 42 winners already this season, believes she has come right again. That matters, because Millman clearly rated her highly before the injury — and a trainer who has won with 42 horses in a single season knows the difference between a horse that is genuinely back and one that is just ticking over. Her most regular jockey, Lewis Edmunds, has ridden her in 5 of her 8 races and has that one win to show for it — a 20% win rate together, which is actually a solid return. She has also been tried in some of the tougher races around, competing in top-level company three times without winning, which suggests the team always thought she had ability worth testing at the highest level.

A horse with a difficult year behind her, a trainer in form, and a return trip to the track where she won — Killavia is one to watch as her season gets going.