Princess Petrol

What makes her interesting is the pedigree of her ambition, quite literally. Her dam won the Oh So Sharp Stakes, one of the top end-of-season races for young horses in Britain, and Walker has had those kinds of targets in mind from early on. After the Ascot win, the plan was to step her up to seven furlongs and aim at stakes company — the higher-grade races where reputations are made. The Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket came up a little soon, but by Walker's own account she was unlucky not to win it. She was finishing strongly on the hardest part of the track before being knocked sideways, which is the sort of misfortune that doesn't show up in a finishing position of 10th or 13th but absolutely explains it.

Her most recent run, in the Fred Darling, followed a similar pattern — she was travelling well before interference disrupted her race. Walker was candid that she hadn't grown a great deal physically over the winter, but that her work at home had been encouraging, and that the Fred Darling would shake the cobwebs loose ahead of a tilt at a Listed race. A Listed race sits just below the very top tier of British racing, and winning one would be a significant moment for her — what Walker called "that all-important stakes win." There's also a wonderfully telling detail from the Ascot victory: she caused a moment of anxiety in the starting stalls, something Walker laughed off by noting she likes to make everyone think she's in charge, even on the way to the stable. For a horse that Ed Walker's yard — which has already sent out 80 winners this season — is quietly excited about, that sounds about right.