Phlox

What gives the picture some optimism is who has the horse in their care. J P Murtagh's yard in Co Kildare has sent out 53 winners already this season, which tells you this is a stable operating at a serious level. Phlox may not have found its feet yet, but it's in an environment built for improvement. The horse raced just one day ago, so there's clearly an appetite to keep it busy and find out what it's capable of — sometimes horses need a run or two simply to learn the job before the penny drops.

At this stage, Phlox is still a work in progress, and two races is a very small sample. Plenty of horses have looked ordinary early on and turned into something worth following.