Ricky Punting

Trained by Tom Dascombe out of Upper Lambourn in Berkshire, Ricky Punting is in capable hands. Dascombe's yard has sent out 22 winners already this season, which speaks to an operation that knows how to get horses ready to perform. For a young horse still learning its trade, being part of a yard firing on that many cylinders is genuinely useful — the experience and routine around it will be doing quiet work even when the results aren't there yet.

What stands out most is how recently this horse has been running — it raced just yesterday, so whatever comes next is close. At two years old, with only three races under its belt, Ricky Punting is very much a work in progress. Some horses take a handful of runs just to figure out what racing is actually about. The second-place finish suggests the penny may be starting to drop. Whether a first win follows soon is the question worth watching.