Yorkshire Dream

What does give genuine cause for optimism is who is doing the training. Ben Haslam operates out of Middleham Moor in North Yorkshire — one of the most storied training grounds in British racing, a hilltop community of yards that has been producing good horses for centuries. Haslam's operation has sent out 35 winners already this season, which tells you this is not a yard that struggles to get horses ready to win. When a stable of that calibre persists with a young horse, it usually means they see something worth nurturing.

Yorkshire Dream raced just yesterday, so the team clearly have no intention of letting this horse sit in a stable feeling sorry for itself. Keeping a young horse active and ticking over is often exactly how trainers build experience and confidence. The question now is whether that slow improvement from race to race — shaving a few places each time — can eventually translate into a first career win. Nothing in the record so far demands patience, but nothing rules it out either. Haslam has the firepower to make it happen.