Pass The Buck

That recent form is the thing worth watching. Reading the last six runs from most recent backwards — a win, a fourth, a third, an eighth, a seventh, a tenth — you can see a horse that was well beaten in its earlier efforts and has gradually worked its way back into contention. Three of the last four runs have ended in the top four, which is exactly the kind of progression a trainer wants to see from a young horse still finding its feet.

The trainer is Joseph Patrick O'Brien, operating out of Owning Hill in County Kilkenny. O'Brien's yard has sent out 160 winners already this season — a figure that reflects one of the most productive training operations in Irish racing. Having a horse like Pass The Buck in that environment matters, because the level of competition in a yard that busy sharpens horses quickly.

At three years old, Pass The Buck is still at the stage where improvement is expected rather than a bonus. The Fairyhouse win is the first piece of evidence that the talent is there. Whether it can be repeated and built upon over the weeks ahead is the question, but right now the arrow is firmly pointing upward.