New Zealand

That company includes the top level of European racing. New Zealand was sent to Saint-Cloud in France and finished within touching distance of Puerto Rico in a Group 1 race — one of the very best races on the continent. Finishing fourth in that grade as a young, developing horse is the kind of performance that makes a yard sit up and take notice. The recent string of results — a ninth, a third, a fourth, a fourth, that win, and a seventh — tells the story of a horse that has been tested hard and is still finding its feet, but clearly belongs at a high level when things fall right.

The trainer is Aidan O'Brien, based at Cashel in County Tipperary, and if you need a measure of how formidable that operation is, consider this: the yard has sent out 138 winners already this season. When O'Brien speaks warmly about a horse, it is worth listening. He has made clear that New Zealand stays well — meaning it is at its best over longer distances — and that a Derby trial is the next step. A Derby trial is essentially a rehearsal for one of the most famous flat races in the world. The fact that this horse is being pointed toward one tells you everything about how seriously it is being taken behind the scenes.

The story is still being written. New Zealand is three years old, lightly raced, and sitting on exactly the kind of form line that rewards patience. The Curragh win was just the beginning.