London Is Blue

Robert Cowell trains out of Newmarket, one of British racing's traditional heartlands, and his yard has been in fine form this season with 24 winners already on the board. Cowell knows this horse well, and his assessment is enthusiastic. He points out that both wins came as a two-year-old, that London Is Blue has wintered exceptionally well and developed physically into a big, imposing three-year-old, and that the horse carries a lot of natural speed. He calls him his dark horse for the season — which, from a trainer who chooses his words carefully, is worth paying attention to.

The recent form tells an interesting story when you read it in the right direction. The sequence of results over the last six races, from oldest to most recent, reads: two wins back-to-back, then a runner-up finish, then a disappointing tenth, then fourth, then second most recently. That dip in the middle — including a messy episode where the horse misbehaved in the starting gate at Yarmouth and had to be withdrawn before even racing — suggests London Is Blue is not yet the most straightforward character. Horses that act up at the start can cost themselves races before they've even begun.

What makes this horse worth watching is the combination of youth, physical development, and a trainer who genuinely believes the best is still to come. At three years old, London Is Blue is still learning the job. The Brighton double showed real ability; the trainer's confidence suggests it hasn't gone anywhere. If the sun stays out and the ground firms up, this could be a horse whose best form is very close to the surface.