Murcia

That Aintree win was her first career victory, which makes it all the more striking. Mullins admitted afterwards that he hadn't expected it — he was hoping for a top-four finish and would have settled for that. What he got instead was a "big, improved performance," and he was quick to point to the conditions as a key factor. The ground was faster and drier than Murcia had encountered in her harder races, and crucially she was carrying significantly less weight than usual, racing under the lighter allowances given to mares. Put it all together — better ground, a lighter load, a horse physically maturing — and something clicked.

Mullins has been clear-eyed about what she is and isn't. He described her Aintree win as the moment she truly came of age, and he sees her future firmly over hurdles rather than fences. She simply doesn't have the size, in his view, to make the jump to the bigger obstacles — a candid assessment from a trainer whose yard has sent out 220 winners this season alone, a number that tells you he knows what a serious horse looks like.

Her recent form reads 1-16-5-15-4-3 — a mixed picture that includes some distant finishes, but also that top-level win sandwiched in. Horses at this level run in the best company in the world, and not every race goes to plan. What matters is that Murcia has already shown, on the right day with the right conditions, she can beat the best. She last raced just this week, winning at Listowel, which suggests she is in a rich vein of form right now. The Mares' Hurdle — one of the most prestigious races of the jumping season — is the target Mullins has in mind, and on the evidence of this season, that ambition looks entirely justified.