EPSOM at the weekend didn’t disappoint, but with so much focus on the Surrey downs, we looked elsewhere to find a horse that may have flown under the radar, writes Page Fuller. Although the action wasn’t quite at the same level as at Epsom, Parkside Lad in the five-furlong maiden at Navan appears to be one worth keeping an eye on moving forward.

As we all know, every moment counts in a sprint over this minimum distance. The fact that Parkside Lad was the slowest horse in the race, taking 3.16 seconds to reach 20mph, meant that he was on the back foot from the very start. By the end of the first furlong, he was already 0.55 seconds behind the winner, Warsaw.

Despite having gained experience on the racecourse, he looked like one of the greenest horses in the race, and there wasn’t a moment when Seamie Heffernan wasn’t pushing him forward.

His efforts were rewarded though, as he managed to coax him along to reach 41.73mph in the third furlong, swiftly moving from 11th to fifth position in the space of 220 yards. This was also the quickest Top Speed recorded by any horse in the race.

The winning time of the race was rated an 8.9 out of 10 on our Time Index, which was the highest score of the day. This suggests that it was a highly competitive race and is likely to produce some exciting prospects. Parkside Lad may struggle to win a novice or maiden race, but once he receives a handicap mark and gains a bit more experience, he should get a few wins quickly in the bag.