JUSTATAN has yet to win under rules, but it looks only a matter of time before he puts that right, judging by his near-miss on chasing bow at Galway on Monday, writes Andy Stephens.

Emmet Mullins’ seven-year-old was pitched straight into handicap company and had a great tussle with Brandt from the outset. There was never much between the pair throughout, with Brandt prevailing by a neck, despite Justatan being marginally quicker (0.23sec) over the final three furlongs.

Both also gave their nine rivals a jumping lesson, swiping ground at almost every fence. Justatan got a Jump Index score of 7.6 out of 10, the best by any chaser on the card, and gained 17.39 lengths with his leaping.

The one negative is that he pulled 19 lengths clear of the third, but the two-time point winner can stay ahead of the handicapper if continuing to jump with similar efficiency.

A race to keep a close eye on is the six-furlong Garrowby Stakes at York last weekend. It was run almost two seconds quicker than the RaceiQ Par, with the Time Index being 9.2 when the meeting average was 6.7.

The winner, Extremely Zain, dropping back to six furlongs, showed he is going to be a force in the sprinting division, with a stiffer track likely to suit even better. It peaked at 8.34 metres on this occasion. He would be an intriguing runner in the Qatar Racing British Champions Sprint at Ascot next month, but would need to be supplemented.

Double Rush, the half-length runner-up, is engaged in that £500,000 feature and will surely return to the scene of his Wokingham triumph. He was slowest to 20mph (2.71sec) and that did not help his cause.