Poetisa

The five-year-old is trained by Willie Mullins, one of the most formidable operations in jump racing. His yard at Muine Bheag in County Carlow has sent out 220 winners already this season — that is a staggering number, roughly one every couple of days — and he doesn't tend to bring horses to Cheltenham without believing they belong there. When Mullins recently described Poetisa as looking "very good" on the day she won, that is not throwaway praise from a man who has seen everything.

Her overall record reads one win and five places from seven races, which means she has finished in the top three in six of her seven outings. That tells you she is remarkably consistent — almost never out of the frame — even if the victories have not stacked up yet. Win roughly 1 in every 7 races (14%) and you are not the most prolific winner, but place in 6 from 7 and you are a horse that barely runs a bad race. The last six results — two seconds, two seconds, a second, and a seventh — confirm she keeps showing up, even when the win isn't coming.

Mullins has indicated she will likely step up to hurdles next, which is the natural progression for a horse of her age and profile. If her Cheltenham win told us anything, it is that big occasions do not faze her. Whether she can build on that as the obstacles get trickier is the question worth watching.