Orthodox

This is genuinely exceptional. Most young horses lose races. They learn from them. Orthodox is still learning, but it is learning while the tape keeps getting cut in front of it. The most recent win came this week at Newmarket, one of the sport's great courses, which matters. Newmarket is where the best horses prove themselves. Winning there at two years old, still unbeaten, is the kind of thing that gets serious racing people paying attention.

Clive Cox's yard at Lambourn has sent out 48 winners already this season, so Orthodox is part of a strong operation. But within that yard, this horse stands out. A perfect record at this level does not happen by accident. Whatever Orthodox has in terms of speed and toughness, it is working so far. The question now is whether it stays perfect or learns what everyone else has learned by now—that racing involves losing sometimes. For now, though, Orthodox is undefeated, and that is worth watching.