Westerton

That Sandown win came with a story attached. The trainer at the time, Alan King, had originally planned to run Westerton in a lower-profile race on the same card, but switched at the last minute to the more prestigious prize — "we thought we'd be brave," as King put it. Ryan Moore, one of the best jockeys in the world, was handed the reins and delivered. It turned out to be King's 2,000th career winner as a trainer, celebrated in the company of owners who had flown down from Aberdeen that morning. One race. One decision. A lot riding on it.

Since then, the story has been quieter. Westerton has not won in his last six races, with recent finishes reading 13th, 5th, 9th, 8th, and a second place — that runner-up spot offering the closest thing to a reminder of what he can do. He actually performs best over a mile and a bit, winning 1 from 7 races (14%) at those distances, which is a far healthier return than his overall record suggests. It is a narrow window, but a real one.

Now six years old and trained by Jennie Candlish at her yard in Basford, Staffordshire, Westerton has a new chapter opening. Candlish has sent out 61 winners this season alone — a yard clearly in fine form — and there are signs she sees something more in him. She has spoken about a hurdles debut at Stratford that left her initially frustrated, with her jockey reporting that Westerton simply ran out of petrol on the day. Her reading of that is encouraging: she says he is impressive at home, hard to properly stretch in training, and that he loves jumping. Sharper tracks, she thinks, will suit him. That is a trainer who knows what she has and is working out how to unlock it. Whether Westerton has another Sandown moment in him remains to be seen, but at least someone believes he does.