Pacific Mission

That break is the main talking point now. Pacific Mission hasn't raced in roughly six months, which is a significant absence for a young three-year-old still finding its feet. Whether the time off was planned or prompted by something more specific isn't clear, but what matters is how it returns. Horses coming back from long breaks can be rusty, or they can come back sharper — and at three years old, there's every chance this one has simply grown into itself over the winter.

The operation behind it gives plenty of reason for confidence. Andrew Balding's yard at Kingsclere in Hampshire has sent out 204 winners this season alone — that's not a team that sends horses to the track unless they're ready to run well. Balding is one of the most respected trainers in the country, and a yard producing that volume of winners has the experience and depth to bring a horse back right.

Pacific Mission is young, lightly raced, and returning from a break — which means there are more questions than answers at this stage. But a horse that's already placed or won in all but one of its three career races has shown it belongs, and with a strong team behind it, it's one to watch closely as the season gets going again.