Sayidah Ardad

What the form line tells you is that consistency is the challenge right now. A 2-7-6-7 sequence read from oldest to most recent shows a horse that briefly threatened before dipping back down the field. That is not unusual for a two-year-old — horses of this age are essentially teenagers still figuring out what racing actually is — but the team will be hoping that second place was a sign of things to come rather than a one-off.

Grace Harris trains her from Shirenewton in Gwent, and it is worth noting that the yard is in decent nick this season — 31 winners on the board is a healthy return and suggests the operation knows how to get a horse ready to win. Sayidah Ardad was out as recently as yesterday, so she is fit and active, and with a full season still ahead of her, there is time for the pieces to click into place. At this stage, she is a work in progress, but the best two-year-olds often take a few runs to work out what is being asked of them.