THE first four of the European mile Group 1 classics are now behind us, with the Irish pair due to be run next weekend, and so the focus of the bulk of the classic trials held in the past 10 days has been on the Derby and Oaks.

When trying to assess the future potential of the main players from any race, there are a number of caveats to keep in mind as underfoot conditions, the pace of the race, and the quality of the opposition can make a performance seem better or worse than it really was.