Wearing Stars

What gives those near-misses real context is who is doing the training. Henry De Bromhead's yard at Knockeen in County Waterford is one of the most respected operations in Ireland, and this season alone they have sent out 106 winners — a serious number that reflects a team operating at the very top of the sport. When a horse comes out of that environment, you know it is being prepared properly. Wearing Stars hasn't won yet, but it isn't being sent out to make up the numbers either.

The horse raced just yesterday, so it is very much a live, active story. At three years old, there is plenty of time for things to click, and the trajectory — gradually creeping closer to the front — is the kind of pattern that often precedes a first win rather than a long, fruitless career. Whether that breakthrough comes soon is anyone's guess, but Wearing Stars looks like a horse on the move in the right direction.