TIME Will Tell readers will know that even slight changes in pace, trip, ground or track, are likely to make a difference to a horse’s performance, in practice as well as in theory, so it should come as no surprise when significant changes see form being turned on its head.

The Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and last week’s July Cup at Newmarket were both run at six furlongs on good-to-firm ground, but in other respects were like chalk and cheese. Not only is Ascot a stiffer test than Newmarket’s July Course, as judged by standard times and Google Earth measurements, a strongly-run race at the former is very different to a steadily-run one at the latter.

Sectional times show that the pace profiles of the two races this year were starkly different, though those sectional times have to be compiled by extensive video analysis as British racing is still stuck in an era in which the absence of essential information is deemed acceptable.

Whereas Harry Angel went quite quickly early at Ascot and tired in the final furlong, he got to sit in second off lukewarm fractions at Newmarket before quickening smartly for victory. His overall time was a historically slow 1m 11.25s and his timefigure just 92, but his last 3f was a seriously fast 33.43s. Last year’s winner Limato was a length and a quarter down in second.

Further back in fourth was the previously unbeaten Caravaggio, who had run down Harry Angel late on at Ascot, but who was only just getting going at the line on this occasion (33.36s last three furlongs).

A neck behind Caravaggio in fifth, and just two lengths behind the winner, was the 100/1-shot Intelligence Cross, who was advantaged significantly by making the running.

That overall time of the July Cup urges significant caution about the form, but at least we know already that both Harry Angel and Caravaggio can run quick from start to finish when required. The former has the best timefigure in Britain and Ireland this year – a 127 from smashing the course record at Haydock – while the latter posted 119 at Naas and 118 at Ascot.

QUICK

There is not a lot between them in terms of ability, but Harry Angel is very quick, even by top sprinting standards and likely to be as good at five furlongs as six furlongs, while Caravaggio looks to be more of a grinder, for whom a true pace is required at the latter trip.

Interestingly, however, neither of them ran the quickest second half of the race in the July Cup. That honour went to third-placed Brando, who came from a near-impossible position with a 33.1s sectional and an apparently sub-11.0s final 1f. Sectional analysis suggests he should have won this on the day.

Brando is a top-class sprinter, if one inclined to run the odd dud race, as when reportedly bleeding the time before. He is available at 10/1 at the time of writing for the Sprint Cup at Haydock in September and those odds look worth taking with some of those prominent in the betting for that race far from sure to turn up.