Tribeca

The Navan win on 25 April is particularly encouraging because debut winners are relatively rare. Most young horses need a run or two just to get their bearings, so a horse that walks into its first race and wins straight away is telling you something. The fact that Tribeca then went out and ran into second place next time out suggests it wasn't a fluke — this is a horse that competes.

Tribeca is trained by Robson De Aguiar, who operates out of Mullingar in Westmeath. The yard has sent out 16 winners already this season, which shows De Aguiar knows how to get a horse ready to run on race day. With a lightly raced two-year-old showing this kind of early promise, having a trainer in that kind of form matters. The horse raced just one day ago, so it is very much in the thick of things right now.

The key question with any young horse this early in its career is whether the wins are signs of a proper talent or just a fortunate start. Two runs is too small a sample to say for certain, but a 50% win rate — one win from two races — is the kind of early record that keeps owners excited and trainers paying close attention. There is plenty of story still to be written here.