Poppy Foxy

Her win came at Chester on 13 June, and it is the kind of result that catches the eye. Chester is one of the most unusual tracks in Britain — a tight, almost perfectly circular loop that rewards horses who can handle a sharp bend and hold their position under pressure. Not every horse takes to it, particularly at two years old, and the fact that Poppy Foxy won there suggests she has a natural racecraft and composure beyond her age. She raced just yesterday, which tells you the team around her are keeping her busy and confident — trainers rarely run horses this frequently unless they believe the horse is thriving.

That team is based at Newmarket under Charlie Clover, a yard that has sent out 24 winners already this season. That is a healthy, productive operation — not one of the sport's giant stables sending out horses in every race going, but a focused yard clearly in form and knowing what they are doing with their horses. Poppy Foxy sitting in that environment, still only two, with her best racing almost certainly ahead of her, is an encouraging sign for what comes next.

Her recent run of form reads 6-1-5-2 going back through her career, which shows a horse that has been a little inconsistent — a sixth, a fifth, sandwiching a win and a second. That is not unusual for a young horse still finding her feet and racing against different types of opposition each time out. What matters is that when the conditions have suited her, she has delivered, and a win rate of 25% — one win from every four races — is genuinely solid at this stage. Most horses at this level are still searching for their first win. Poppy Foxy already has hers, and she got it somewhere that counts.