How good could she be in another year? Santa Barbara living up to the hype

There can be few topics as diverse as the factors involved in gambling psychology, and my colleague Keith Melrose earlier this week wrote an interesting column on the related subject of punter loyalty to favourite horses.

The opposite to this is also an intriguing dynamic, whereby punters sometimes irrationally allow their own disappointment to influence their interpretation of a performance, for all that market expectation is a relevant factor when assessing any race.

To a certain degree, Santa Barbara may have fallen victim to this after her defeats as favourite for the 1,000 Guineas and Oaks this season.