THERE were some interesting performances last week at Newmarket with one standout performance, and an Aidan O’Brien-trained eye-catcher for the notebook. The ground on all three days was closer to good than good to firm according to the Race IQ data. The average Time Index on day one was recorded as being 5.6 out of 10, which was in accordance with the official going description of good (good to firm in places). On day two, the ground was optimistically described as being good to firm, but with an average Race IQ Time Index of 4.5, it was good at best and the same can be said for the final day, where the average index was 4.2.

The two Group 1 races on Saturday over six furlongs produced similar performances in terms of merit. True Love won the Cheveley Park in a time of 1m 11.00s, with Wise Approach clocking 1m 11.56s in the Middle Park. Those times were achieved in contrasting ways, with Wise Approach unable to run his race as evenly as True Love, courtesy of the interference that he suffered at the start. True Love impressed with the sustained speed that she showed, whereas Wise Approach impressed with a sharp change of pace.

Tattersalls Sceptre Sessions Cheveley Park Stakes (Group 1)

True Love broke smartly from the stalls taking just 2.31s (third fastest) to reach 20mph. This afforded her a prominent position, which she never relinquished. She raced evenly through the race with five of her six furlongs recorded as being Par, as against the Race IQ standard. She simply got into a high gear and sustained her speed throughout the race. This is evidenced by her Finishing Speed Percentage (FSP) of 101.78%, which is close to the Par number of 101.47%.

The fact that she posted her fastest furlong of the race through the second furlong (11.00s), yet still finished the race strongly, provides some hope that she may stay further than six furlongs and this raises the question as to whether she will try and emulate Lake Victoria, who won this race before winning the Breeders’ Cup Fillies Juvenile Turf over a mile. Given how well she saw this race out, a sharp turning mile at Del Mar would be well within her compass.

In terms of the vanquished, there were few excuses, but a positive note should be made of Royal Fixation in third. She came into this race having won the Group 2 Sky Bet Lowther at York, but seemed uncomfortable with the pace here.

She raced in last place before making some headway after three furlongs and then finished her race off well, recording the fastest final furlong in the race of 12.14s. She will stay seven furlongs and it is likely that she will take in a 1000 Guineas trial early next season.

Tattersalls Middle Park Stakes (Group 1)

IN contrast to True Love, Wise Approach was unable to run evenly through this race, and had to rely on a change of gear to win the race. While True Love recorded her fastest furlong as early as the second furlong, Wise Approach used his speed for a fast finish, with his fastest furlong being the penultimate one (10.92s).

The start of the race was a nightmare for William Buick. The Publican’s Son, who was drawn next to him, gave him a hefty bump causing him to stumble badly and leaving him in last place. Understandably, both were the slowest in the race to reach 20mph (2.77s). After such a poor start and facing an even gallop set by Five Ways, Wise Approach needed a turn of foot to get out of trouble and he did not disappoint.

He was the fastest horse in each of the final three furlongs, displaying a fine turn of foot which gave him an FSP of 105.09% (Par: 101.47%). This was made up of a fast penultimate furlong of 10.92s and then a final furlong of 11.78s, which is rated as very fast when compared to the Race IQ Par. This turn of speed was achieved while having to be switched around the field to get a run.

The speed that he showed here aligned to his speedy pedigree makes him a Commonwealth Cup prospect as opposed to the 2000 Guineas. His half-brother, Perfect Power won that race in 2022 and there is evidence in how he moves to suggest that he is a sprinter.

The Race IQ stride data highlights just how quickly he strides. His peak stride frequency of 2.49 strides per second was the fourth fastest of the meeting and this ability to spin his wheels quickly is typical of a sprinter, as compared to a long-striding horse with a low cadence who lengthens his stride rather than quickens.

DISTANT Storm put up the best time performance of the Newmarket meeting and is potentially top-class. He recorded the highest Race IQ Time Index of the meeting of 6.8 and displayed a scintillating turn of foot to put him right in line for a crack at the Dewhurst later this month. Distant Storm had beaten a host of next-time-out winners on his debut and was then inconvenienced by a steady pace in the Acomb Stakes at York, where he pulled too hard.

This time, he was held up in seventh place off a strong gallop set by his stable companion Catullus, before quickening sharply through the final two furlongs to be the only horse in the race to record an FSP above 100% (102.76%). His final two furlongs in a rapid 23.40s was 1.17s faster than the runner-up and both of those were faster than the Race IQ Par, causing him to pull four and three-quarter lengths clear of the field.

All his rivals recorded slower than Par final furlongs as they recoiled from the strong gallop, but he was able to run faster than Par with a final furlong of 12.28s. Such was his dominance over this Group 3 field, he has to be a Group 1 horse and, as such, a live contender for the 2000 Guineas next season - for which he is generally available at 10/1.

BOW Echo remains unbeaten in three starts after his win here, but it’s Action who caught the eye in defeat. The first four furlongs were steadily run with Action poorly placed in eighth and last place. With the race turning into a sprint, he was at a positional disadvantage yet showed plenty of speed to finish third.

He was the only horse in the race to record faster than Par sectionals through the final four furlongs. He achieved this while looking awkward on the track, failing to handle the dip. Once he got organised on the rising ground, he finished the race off faster than the winner with a final two furlongs of 23.62s compared to 23.64s.

Only Action and Bow Echo were able to reach a speed of more than 40mph and that Action could do this whilst not handling the track from a poor position whilst negotiating traffic was impressive and he must be given a sectional upgrade. He has something of an ungainly way of galloping, but this was only his third start and being closely-related to the dual Derby winner Lambourn, he looks to be a middle-distance prospect to follow next year.