Sons And Lovers

What's particularly striking is where he's been asked to compete. All seven of his runs at the top level — Class 1, the elite tier of British and Irish racing — have come without a win, but that's less a mark against him and more a sign of the company he's kept. Most horses never get near that level. The fact that he keeps being entered there tells you plenty about how the team rates him.

His trainer, Joseph Patrick O'Brien, is based at Owning Hill in County Kilkenny and is having a superb season — 171 winners and counting. O'Brien clearly has a plan for Sons And Lovers too. After winning in Riyadh earlier this year, the horse ran a solid race at Meydan and has been pencilled in for the likes of Chester and potentially the Belmont Gold Cup in America — serious international staying races that attract the best stayers in the world. That's an ambitious summer itinerary, and it tells you this horse is being aimed high.

At longer distances — a mile and six furlongs to two miles — Sons And Lovers looks most at home, winning 1 from 3 races at those trips, a 33% win rate that makes him a genuine threat when stepped up in distance. After his Riyadh win, O'Brien noted that the horse was a little eager early on his first try at the trip, but jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle settled him beautifully down the back straight to claim the race. Getting him relaxed seems to be the key.

He raced just yesterday and remains very much in training. With an international schedule potentially ahead and a trainer in red-hot form, Sons And Lovers looks like a horse whose best days may still be in front of him.