Scandinavia

What makes this streak remarkable is not just the consistency but the company. Scandinavia has won three of his four top-level races—the highest quality races in Britain. More striking still, he is undefeated over long distances. In three races at two miles or beyond, he has won them all. This is a horse built for stamina, a big, long-striding animal that eats up ground. His trainer, Aidan O'Brien, trains from Cashel in Ireland and has sent out 125 winners this season alone, but he has singled out Scandinavia as something special. Last season, the horse won two Group 1 races—the Goodwood Cup and the St Leger—establishing himself as a serious stayer at the top level.

The real test of his class came at Goodwood last month. O'Brien had originally planned to run a different horse, Illinois, but when Ryan Moore reported back from Newmarket that Scandinavia felt "very classy," the decision was made to let both run and see what happened. Scandinavia travelled through the race beautifully under Wayne Lordan and won decisively. O'Brien's comment afterwards—that the horse "was always a very smart horse" and that his team had backed him for the Derby early in his career—hints at a talent that may have taken time to find its true calling in staying races rather than shorter distances.

With seven consecutive wins, Scandinavia is not just a good horse on good days. He is running at a level that suggests he could be heading for something significant. The trainer has already mapped out his next targets, suggesting this winning streak is far from over.