Zavateri

What makes the record genuinely impressive is the company he has been keeping. Eve Johnson Houghton, who trains him from her yard in Blewbury, Oxfordshire, had the confidence to take him straight from that debut win to a Class 1 race at Newmarket in July — one of the top races in Britain. Most in the sport thought it was too soon. He won. A few weeks later he won another Class 1 at Goodwood, where Johnson Houghton recalled him having to fight off a challenge from one of the best jockeys in the world before finding another gear. "He had to win his race twice," she said. That kind of toughness in a young horse is rare and genuinely exciting.

His most recent win, at The Curragh in September, may be the most telling of all. Jockey Charles Bishop, who has partnered him in five of his six races and won four of them — an 80% win rate together — produced him from the back of the field on a day when horses were simply not finishing fast from that position. It worked. Johnson Houghton was fulsome afterwards, calling him a superstar without a trace of embarrassment, and noting that he is still maturing and likely wants longer distances as he gets older. That last point matters: a horse still improving, still filling out, with his best days arguably ahead of him.

Zavateri raced just one day ago and remains in action. For a yard that has already sent out 39 winners this season, he stands out as something a little different — not just a winner, but a horse who keeps raising the ceiling.