Mao Shang Wong

The distance question is where things get genuinely intriguing. At a mile and three to a mile and four furlongs — the longer end of middle-distance racing — Mao Shang Wong has won 2 of just 4 races, a 50% win rate. That is a remarkable conversion. For context, most horses at this level would be delighted with 1 in 5. Finding a horse that wins half its races at a specific trip is the sort of thing punters spend years looking for. It strongly suggests the yard has worked out exactly where this horse wants to be, and is placing it accordingly.

What sits awkwardly against that, though, is the class record. Mao Shang Wong has raced six times at Class 5 — which is the lower end of the racing ladder — and has won none of those. Zero from six. Both wins have come when stepping up in class, which is almost the reverse of what you'd expect. Normally horses win at the lower level and get tested higher up. Here it's the opposite, and that oddity is worth keeping an eye on as the yard continue to work out where this horse truly belongs.

David O'Meara's yard at Upper Helmsley in North Yorkshire is very much in form right now — 100 winners already this season is a serious number, and reflects a stable that is placing its horses well and keeping them healthy. With Mao Shang Wong having raced just one day ago, this is a horse that is clearly robust and in the middle of an active campaign. Two wins in a week from a trainer firing on all cylinders, over a distance that suits, suggests Mao Shang Wong is well worth watching wherever it turns up next.