Toyotomi

The bare numbers tell a modest story so far: one win and two places from nine races, which works out at roughly one win in every nine attempts. But the recent form paints a different picture. A nineteenth-place finish has given way to a first, a third, and a string of steadily improving runs — the kind of trajectory that suggests a horse beginning to find itself. Toyotomi does not hit the front early; he takes his time, which makes him well suited to races with big fields where there is room to come from off the pace and pick off tired rivals in the final furlong.

O'Meara, speaking a fortnight before that Goodwood win, described him as "a horse waiting to come alive" — and the timing of those words looks sharp in hindsight. The trainer flagged Goodwood as a track that seemed to suit him, pointed to big-field sprint races as his ideal hunting ground, and even mentioned the Ayr Gold Cup later in the season as a potential target. The Ayr Gold Cup is one of the most famous sprint races in the British calendar — a huge field, a long straight, and exactly the kind of chaotic, come-from-behind contest that suits a horse who does his best work late.

Whether Toyotomi turns out to be a one-win wonder or the start of something more interesting will become clearer over the summer. But the trainer's optimism, the improving form, and a yard that clearly knows where it is going suggest this horse is worth keeping an eye on.