Oathbound

What makes this worth watching, though, is the yard behind the horse. Oathbound is trained by William Haggas at Newmarket, one of the most powerful operations in British racing. Haggas has sent out 170 winners already this season — that's not a trainer who wastes time on horses he doesn't believe in. When a yard of that calibre keeps running a horse that hasn't placed in four attempts, it usually means they see something worth developing. Patience is a deliberate choice, not an accident.

Oathbound raced just yesterday, so this is a horse very much in the middle of its story. At three years old, there's still plenty of time to find a race that suits, and handlers at this level are skilled at placing horses in the right spot. Whether Oathbound can finally break through and reward that faith remains to be seen — but with Haggas pulling the strings, it would be unwise to write the horse off just yet.