Radiator Springs

What adds real weight to that debut win is where Radiator Springs comes from. Henry De Bromhead's yard in Knockeen, County Waterford, is one of the most powerful operations in Irish racing, and this season alone they have sent out 106 winners. When a trainer of that calibre takes a horse to Clonmel in January and it wins, it is rarely an accident — horses from that yard tend to be well-prepared before they are asked to go and perform. Coming out of a stable producing winners at that volume means Radiator Springs is competing in good company even before it steps onto a racetrack.

The horse has been off for around 80 days since that third-place finish, which represents a short break rather than anything to worry about — trainers of De Bromhead's standing use quiet spells deliberately, either to freshen a horse up or to aim it at a specific target. With just two races on the clock and a win already banked, Radiator Springs looks like a horse whose story is only just beginning.