Pathein

His trainer Ed Dunlop, one of Newmarket's most respected yards and a team that has sent out 35 winners already this season, has spoken warmly about Pathein since the spring. Back in April, Dunlop flagged him as a horse to keep an eye on later in the year — a good-bodied type with an attractive pedigree and a price tag at the sales to match. That pedigree note is worth unpacking: Pathein is from the first crop of St Mark's Basilica, a stallion who won four consecutive Group 1 races in 2021 for trainer Aidan O'Brien. When a horse's father was that dominant at the very highest level, it tends to attract attention.

The jockey who rode him at Doncaster, Robert Havlin, offered a candid and interesting verdict afterwards. He said Pathein got away with the wet conditions that day — suggesting normal or faster ground might suit him even better — and that while the horse is still physically on the weak side, he has a genuinely good attitude. That combination of mental strength and room to grow physically is exactly what you want to hear about a young horse.

He hasn't raced since that Doncaster win, roughly five months ago now, so this next appearance will be something of a reintroduction. Horses that return from a break can take a race to find their rhythm, but Pathein's record so far — one win and a place from just two outings, meaning he has finished in the top two in half his career races — suggests he does his best work when it matters. With a big pedigree behind him and a trainer who clearly believes in him, the interesting question isn't whether Pathein has a future. It's how big that future turns out to be.