Walsingham

His most recent win came there in late April, and O'Meara has been candid about why: the horse simply likes it there. After that victory, the trainer tried him at York in the Hambleton, a step up in class and company, and admitted Walsingham was "overfaced a touch." That is a useful piece of honesty — it tells you where this horse genuinely belongs and where he is at his best. On normal ground in standard conditions he wins 3 from 7, a 43% rate that any trainer would be delighted with. Wet or testing conditions appear to suit him less, though jockey Brodie Hampson described a confident ride at Ascot on soft ground, noting that Walsingham travelled beautifully into the race and simply needed something to take him to the front a fraction later. "When he hit the front he didn't do too much," Hampson said — the classic trait of a horse that is talented but needs managing carefully.

One detail that stands out in the record is the partnership with Chris Hayes, who has ridden Walsingham 8 times without a win. That is a long run without reward for any jockey-and-horse combination, and it sits slightly awkwardly alongside a horse that clearly knows how to win. His recent form — a win followed by a third, then a string of double-digit finishes — suggests he is a horse who needs things to fall right: clean passages, suitable ground, and ideally a left-hand track shaped like Pontefract.

O'Meara's yard has sent out 101 winners this season, which is the kind of output that keeps owners interested and staff motivated. Walsingham is not the star of that operation, but he is the sort of horse every yard needs — consistent enough to be competitive, specialist enough to keep winning when conditions suit. When the fixture list throws up a Pontefract entry on a dry summer evening, he is the kind of horse worth a second look.