Masego

What makes that win worth paying attention to is where it came from. Masego has always looked most at home over longer distances — between a mile and six furlongs and two miles — and at those trips he has won 1 from 5 races, which works out at 20%, or roughly 1 in every 5. That is a meaningful jump from his overall record, and it suggests the key to unlocking him has been finding the right conditions rather than anything more complicated. Longer races suit horses who travel well through a race and save their energy for a late effort, and Masego appears to be exactly that type.

His recent form backs this up. Reading the last six runs from most recent to oldest — 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 5th — shows a horse that has been consistently in the mix. Three finishes in the top three, including that win, alongside one disappointing run, paints the picture of a horse in good health and running well. He raced just one day ago, which means he is very much in the middle of an active campaign right now.

He is trained by John C McConnell out of a yard in Stamullen, Co Meath — a team that has sent out 36 winners already this season, which is a solid, productive operation. For Masego, the task now is to build on that Leopardstown breakthrough and show it was not a one-off. Horses that finally click into gear at four can sometimes improve sharply from that moment. Whether he can do it again is the interesting question.