TIME comparisons are more meaningful in some contexts than others, but it is difficult to imagine a better use of them than when looking to measure one top seven furlong race for two-year-olds against another top seven furlong race for two-year-olds within 35 minutes of each other on the same card.

That was the case with the Moyglare Stud Stakes and the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes at the Curragh last Sunday, and the comparison leads to a conclusion that may not be the one expected.

The fillies were up first, and Happily and Magical put on a stirring show to draw away from their rivals late on, the former a short-head to the good and stopping the clock at 1m 26.93s.

Verbal Dexterity was more impressive visually a little later in storming clear of Beckford and co, but his time was 0.39s (just over two lengths) slower.

That resulted in timefigures of 113 for Happily and Magical and 109 for Verbal Dexterity, the former the fastest by two-year-old fillies in Ireland and Britain this year, the latter joint-seventh among colts (Expert Eye leads the way on 114).

TV COVERAGE

Sectional times, such as they can be established given the worm’s-eye TV coverage of some of the proceedings, offer little comfort to fans of the latter: the National was fractionally quicker early, slower mid-race and almost identical through the closing stages.

That is for the leaders, and what it tells us is that it was as much a case of Verbal Dexterity’s rivals finishing slowly as him finishing quickly.

Those rivals did not include Gustav Klimt, a late defection on account of a stone bruise, but they did include Beckford, a son of the sprinter Bated Breath who had beaten Verbal Dexterity at six furlongs in the Railway Stakes but who may not stay as well as some previous impressions had suggested.

LITTLE DOUBT

Happily was reversing places with Magical from the Debutante Stakes on this course and there should be little doubt that both fillies are pretty good: there were only two quicker timefigures by juvenile fillies in the whole of 2016.

Verbal Dexterity could yet prove to be as good as some are already claiming for him, but that time suggests a little caution is best, especially as both his wins have come with a considerable amount of give in the ground.

Nelson, who won the Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown the day before at Leopardstown, is a different type, and almost certainly a middle-distance performer in the making. He got the run of things up front somewhat and posted just a 100 timefigure but is certainly going the right way after an inauspicious start.