THE beauty of on-screen sectionals, which exist in France but not in Britain and Ireland, is that it takes very little work for the enthusiast to figure out precisely what the pace of a race has been straight after the event.

The on-screen sectionals for the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly on Sunday were: 65.32 secs with 1000 metres to go; 89.98 secs with 600m to go; 102.16 secs with 400m to go; 114.28 secs with 200m to go; and 126.51 secs at the line.

Taking the 600-metre sectional, which is usually the best for races at 1600m or further, it can be seen that the time to the finish was 36.53s (final time minus 89.98s). If you multiply the final time by 100, then by the sectional distance divided by the overall race distance (600/2100 in this instance) then divide by the time of the sectional (36.53s) you get the all-important finishing speed percentage.

This year’s Jockey Club produces a figure of 98.9%, indicating that the finish was slower than the average speed for the race overall. This is by no means common in France, where many races turn into late sprints. In such a well-run race, the ideal place to have been at the sectional is a few lengths back.

The winner Brametot was about seven lengths back, the second Waldgeist was about four lengths back, and the third Recoletos was about three lengths back. Interestingly, the leader at the sectional, Taj Mahal, still managed to finish fourth.

Races run in this sort of manner – where the race finishing speed is a bit slower than par, indicating that the early pace was strong but not breakneck – tend to result in good overall times, and this year’s Jockey Club resulted in a good overall time. I make the timefigure equivalent to 119 for the first two, 117 for Recoletos and 116 for Taj Mahal.

Brametot, who got up determinedly almost on the line, had posted the same 119 timefigure when winning the Prix de Fontainbleau here and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches at Deauville. Give him a well-run race and he delivers good time performances, but not exceptional time performances yet.

Judged on those sectionals and his prominent positioning, Taj Mahal can be rated almost alongside the first two and should now make the breakthrough in a group race. As should sixth-placed Orderofthegarter, who was positioned more efficiently but did not get a clear run late on. Rivet was not disgraced in eighth but needs a return to a mile if he cannot settle better in a well-run affair than this.