IN the belief – or perhaps that should be “hope” – that any time spent on research now will pay dividends in the future, I decided to sift through the better two-year-old maidens in Ireland in 2019 in the hope of unearthing a star or two of the future. My criteria were that the horse in question should not have run in listed/group company but be rated in excess of 90 by Timeform.

There were no Cliffs Of Moher types among them (the subsequent Derby runner-up put up some sensational splits when winning a maiden at Leopardstown as a juvenile), but the following trio impressed more than most.