Pinot Gris

Look at his last six runs and you see a horse of shifting moods: he finished 2nd, then slid back through mid-field finishes, then came storming back with a win just days ago. That kind of form — inconsistent, then suddenly sharp — matches almost perfectly what his handlers have said about him. De Bromhead has described him as "lazy and idle", a horse who needs things to sharpen him up. Blinkers did exactly that at Naas, making him concentrate instead of drifting around the straight as he had done on a previous occasion without them. Jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle noted after an earlier win that cheekpieces had a similar effect — this is a horse who has talent but needs a nudge to use it.

The ground matters too, but in a reassuring way: Pinot Gris genuinely handles a range of conditions. On normal ground he has won 2 from 5 races, a solid 40%. On slightly soft ground — a touch of moisture underfoot — that jumps to 2 wins from just 3 races, which is a remarkable 67%. He is not a fair-weather performer who falls apart in difficult conditions; if anything, a bit of give in the ground brings the best out of him.

De Bromhead's yard has sent out 110 winners this season, which tells you this is a serious, high-functioning operation — not a small stable sending out hopeful runners. When a yard of that calibre fits a horse with headgear and targets him carefully, a win tends to follow. Pinot Gris has now won at two different tracks, over distances around a mile and a half, and McMonagle's early observation that stepping up in trip would suit him appears to have been well judged. The trainer has also hinted that jumping fences could be on the horizon, which would represent a new chapter entirely for a horse who is clearly still finding his feet — and occasionally, his best form.