Mr Mercury

At three years old, he is still finding his feet, and a single run with a modest result is no reason to write off any horse. What matters now is how he comes out of that race and what his trainer does next. J A Nash, based at The Curragh in Co. Kildare — one of the heartlands of Irish racing — has sent out a winner this season, so the yard is up and running. The Curragh is a serious training base, surrounded by some of the best grassland in Europe, and horses stabled there tend to be aimed at decent targets.

Mr Mercury raced just one day ago, so the yard — sorry, so the team — will be assessing how he has bounced back before deciding where he runs next. Everything about his story is still to be written.