Yulia

What is harder to overlook is who is doing the training. Joseph Patrick O'Brien, based at Owning Hill in County Kilkenny, has sent out 160 winners already this season — a number that puts his yard among the most productive operations in the sport. When a trainer is firing in winners at that kind of volume, horses in his care tend to be given time and opportunity to develop rather than written off after a slow start. For Yulia, being part of that setup means the expertise and resources around her are first-rate, even if the results haven't arrived yet.

Two races in, with a run as recently as yesterday, the honest assessment is that Yulia's story is still very much at the beginning. There is nothing in her record to get excited about — but equally nothing to suggest it's time to give up on her either.