National Honour

The pattern of those last three runs tells a story of consistent improvement. A win, then another win, then a second-place finish — the kind of form that suggests National Honour knows what it is doing on the track. The horse first broke its duck at Thirsk on 14 August, and has barely stopped winning since. That back-to-back pairing in early September shows this is not a one-hit wonder; this is a horse that has figured out how to finish in front and can do it more than once.

National Honour is trained by Charlie Appleby at his Newmarket yard, one of the biggest operations in British racing. The fact that Appleby has already sent out 121 winners this season underlines the standard of horsemanship on display — this is a stable where young horses are developed properly. At just two years old, National Honour has the time and the record to suggest it could be something really worth watching.