War Artist

War Artist made a losing debut a day ago, finishing sixth in a race for two-year-olds. The horse is trained by J P Murtagh at Coolaghknock Glebe in County Kildare, a yard that has already sent out 53 winners this season—a sign of a trainer who knows how to get horses ready to race. For a horse fresh from the track, it is too early to say anything definitive. First-time runners often need that race to learn what they are doing, and plenty of good horses have lost their opener. War Artist will likely have learned something from the experience, and the fact that Murtagh's stable is firing on all cylinders this year suggests the horse will get another chance soon enough.