Tamam Desert

There is one number worth holding onto, though. When Tamam Desert races over seven furlongs to a mile — that sweet spot between a sprint and a proper test of stamina — the record improves sharply: 1 win from 3 races, which is a win rate of 33%, or roughly 1 in every 3. That is a completely different horse to the one that has been struggling elsewhere. It suggests the team at The Curragh have a horse that is genuinely distance-sensitive, and that pointing it at the right trip matters more than almost anything else.

That yard, run by M D O'Callaghan and based at The Curragh in Co. Kildare — the heartland of Irish racing — has sent out 21 winners already this season, which tells you this is a functioning, busy operation with no shortage of horses capable of winning races. Tamam Desert, raced just yesterday and still clearly active, remains a horse looking for the conditions to line up in its favour. The form is thin right now, but a horse with a 1-in-3 record at its preferred distance is not one to dismiss entirely — it just needs everything to be right.