Whiting Ash

What's more interesting is the enthusiasm coming from her trainer, Alastair Ralph. Based in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, Ralph runs a yard that has already sent out 25 winners this season, which tells you this isn't a small operation running horses for the fun of it — they know what they're doing. And Ralph clearly thinks Whiting Ash belongs in that winning conversation. She's described her as having a big engine, with work at home that backs that up. That kind of language from a trainer who is already putting winners on the board this season carries a bit of weight.

She's bred to be interesting too. Her sire is Jack Hobbs, a high-class flat horse who has made a decent name for herself as a jumping sire, and she's a half-sister to Churchman — a useful reference point for anyone who knows the family. Ralph has Warwick pencilled in as her next target, which suggests the team have a clear plan and aren't simply taking it one day at a time. One placing from one race is a thin CV, but the signals from the stable are that Whiting Ash is a horse who could make that record look very different before long.