Lexington Blitz

What makes Lexington Blitz particularly interesting is that he seems to thrive on tracks that other horses find awkward. His trainer Robert Cowell, who operates out of Newmarket and has sent out 24 winners already this season, has spoken about the horse loving what he calls "Marmite tracks" — places that divide opinion, where the layout or the ground can unsettle less confident horses. Goodwood is one of the most unusual circuits in British racing, a hillside track that curves and undulates in ways that can bamboozle horses on first visit. Lexington Blitz is not bothered. He has also won a Class 2 race — one of the top-tier events in Britain — at Catterick, and finished second at Epsom as a three-year-old in the Dash, a notoriously fast five-furlong sprint on a track famous for its camber and slope.

Cowell has been open about the fact that gelding Lexington Blitz over the winter made a real difference, and a good break has left him stronger and more settled this season. At Epsom most recently, he described the horse as having needed a shakedown run at York first — where he came out big and bulky and led prominently on the wrong side of the track — before being properly tuned up. The Epsom run stripped him fit, and he clearly relished the fast, dry ground over five furlongs there. His rating has since jumped 9lb to 97, which is a significant leap and means he will carry more weight if he lines up in top company again — but Cowell is not hiding from the big occasions. Royal Ascot is reportedly on the agenda, which would be the biggest stage of Lexington Blitz's career so far. Given what he has shown over the past few months, that is not an outlandish ambition at all.