Ukiyo

Trained by Andrew Kinirons out of Newbridge, Co Kildare, Ukiyo operates in a yard that has sent out five winners this season, so there is clearly ability being developed there. Kinirons is not a name that dominates the headlines, but a trainer putting winners on the board consistently is doing something right, and Ukiyo's Cork success was part of that picture.

What is harder to ignore is the recent form. The last six races read 2-7-11-11-1-6 — meaning that win at Cork sits sandwiched between a solid second place beforehand and a sixth-place finish after. The two eleventh-place finishes either side of the victory are a reminder that Ukiyo is not a horse operating at the top of its division; this is an animal that needs things to fall right. But the fact that it has raced as recently as yesterday tells you the team believes there is more to come, and the Cork win is only six months old — this is not ancient history.

With just one win and two placed efforts from eleven races, Ukiyo is the kind of horse that will frustrate as often as it rewards. But every racehorse only needs one good day to justify everything, and Ukiyo has already had that day at Cork. Whether it can find another is the question worth watching.