YOU would have to go a long way to find a more professional and consistent high-class racehorse than Ribchester these days, but his win in the Queen Anne Stakes on the opening day of Royal Ascot suffers slightly in comparison with a couple of others on the card. He beat Mutakayyef and Deauville readily rather than easily and beat the track record by “only” 0.49s.

Given the speed of the surface and other times on the card, that equates to a timefigure of 118, compared to the 119 he posted when finding only Minding too good in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over course and distance last October.