FAVOURITE backers may have been disappointed when Havana Hurricane went down on the nod in the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury on Saturday, but the data gives us a great insight into why we shouldn’t write him off quite yet, writes Page Fuller

The writing was on the wall from a long way out when he was clearly struggling to lay up with the field in the mid-part of the race.

For context, every horse in the race hit their top speed in either the second or third furlong, but his top speed of 41.41 mph was only faster than three other horses in the race.

This was also compounded with a slow start, which now appears to be characteristic of this Windsor Castle Stakes winner. His 0-20mph of 2.82 seconds was the 14th fastest in the field at Newbury.

At Royal Ascot, he ranked 20th out of 23 for his speed from the stalls, and in his first two starts, he was only faster than one other horse.

When it was a stiff five furlongs at Royal Ascot, it probably worked in his favour, allowing him to make better use of his stamina.

Judging by his finishing effort at Newbury, a step up in trip might be the ideal solution for him.

He was closing all the way to the line, and completed the final two furlongs 0.42 seconds quicker than the winner. His Finishing Speed Percentage of 102.63% was also by far the highest of the field, nearly 2% quicker than any other horse in the race.

He may not need a dramatic step up, but certainly six furlongs looks made for him, and it will be exciting to see how he shapes up as he develops into his three-year-old season next year.