Royale Blue

What gives this story some texture is the yard behind it. Trainer Adam Nicol operates out of Seahouses in Northumberland — not one of the famous racing centres like Newmarket or Lambourn — and has still managed to send out 26 winners this season, which is a genuinely solid return for a smaller regional operation. Nicol clearly knows how to place a horse and find the right opportunities, so the question for Royale Blue is simply when, not if, the team finds the right race to get it competitive. Two runs is a very short sample. Horses often need a handful of races just to understand what is being asked of them, and a step forward from fifth to something closer to the front is not an unreasonable expectation with more experience in the locker.