Lopeo

The numbers are modest on the surface: one win and four placed efforts from six races, a win rate of roughly 1 in every 6 outings. But context matters here. Jockey Rossa Ryan noted after the Goodwood win that "the penny has nowhere near dropped" — meaning Lopeo is still figuring things out, still learning what racing is actually about. For a horse this raw to already be winning Class 2 company suggests there's considerably more to come when the light fully switches on.

Menuisier, who operates out of Pulborough in West Sussex and has sent out 20 winners already this season, has a clear vision for where Lopeo is headed: staying races, over longer distances, where stamina becomes the weapon. That reading of the horse is already being tested. Lopeo finished runner-up most recently at Goodwood again, and crucially did so on fast, dry ground — a different test entirely from the soft conditions he relished on his winning day. The fact he handled it so well opens up a wider range of options.

The plan now points towards a valuable staying race at Doncaster for three-year-olds, after a scheduled run at Haydock fell through when the meeting was abandoned. Menuisier described him simply as "one to follow" — which, coming from a trainer who chooses his words carefully, is worth paying attention to. With 20 winners on the board this season, Pulborough is a yard in form, and Lopeo looks like one of their more interesting long-term projects. The best of him almost certainly hasn't been seen yet.