Silent Applause

What makes the bigger picture interesting is the yard behind it. Charlie Appleby's Newmarket operation has sent out 121 winners already this season — that is a training outfit operating at serious volume and serious quality, and horses that come through that stable tend to be well-prepared for the races they're entered in. When Appleby finds something he likes about a horse, he tends to place it carefully and give it every chance to win.

The recent form string does ask a question or two. Reading from most recent backwards, the sequence runs 13-4-1-1-2-5 — two wins in the middle, but a fourth and then a thirteenth in the most recent outings. That dip after the Haydock win is worth noting, though it is not unusual for a young horse to take a step back after a career-best effort. The key detail here is that Silent Applause raced just one day ago, so we are looking at a horse in the middle of an active campaign rather than one coming back from a long break.

At 3 years old and with only six races under its belt, there is still plenty of room to grow. The wins are already on the board, the trainer knows what he is doing, and the horse has shown it can handle different tracks. Whether the recent dip in form is just a blip or something more will become clear soon enough.