EVENTS at Haydock away from the Sprint Cup were heavily affected by the unseasonably soft ground and also in some instances by pace. For instance, Great Scot’s win in the Group 3 Superior Mile came in an ordinary overall time and with sectionals showing that he got the run of things from the front.

His 116 figure after sectionals have been factored in is respectable but has him only just ahead of the two he beat by a sizeable margin, Matterhorn and Raising Sand (both 115).

Pyledriver was slower overall in the two-year-old listed race but not by much after weight carried and weight-for-age is allowed for, worth a 104 figure on time and sectionals combined.

The two valuable one-mile-six-furlong handicaps saw the three-year-old version, won by Ranch Hand, won in a 0.95s faster overall time and in slightly quicker late sectionals, though the older-horse contest, won by Time To Study, was messy in that Crystal King looked like he had slipped the field at one stage and was headed only just over a furlong out.

Ranch Hand gets a 106 sectionally adjusted rating while Time To Study gets one of 98. Alright Sunshine (106) did really well on sectionals in second behind the latter but seemed to shirk the issue when it mattered.

Group races are a rarity on all-weather but there were two at Group 3 level at Kempton last Saturday, with Royal Line back on song to win a tactical September Stakes with just a 94 timefigure, raised to 111 on sectionals. It is best to treat the bare form with some caution, especially in view of the proximity of 97-rated Rasima in sixth.

The Sirenia Stakes for two-year-olds went to Streamline with a rather substandard 101 timefigure. Despite some visual impressions to the contrary, this was run at a good pace rather than an overly strong one, and none of the runners gets much in the way of an upgrade.

The Group 3 Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes at Salisbury earlier in the week saw Dark Lady and Millisle pull nicely clear of their rivals in a useful 105 overall time, with the former prevailing by a short-head.

Sectionals show that this was run at a pretty strong pace, and the Jessica Harrington-trained runner-up came home in a 99.4% finishing speed having helped force it. Millisle has been rated the narrow winner on 106, a figure which suggests she can place at a higher level still.

This is the time of year when some racing fans’ thoughts turn to the jumps, if they have been elsewhere at all. I prefer to wait until next month, if not later, but a couple of winners at Listowel on Sunday underlined that things are slowly heating up.

Dr Mikey posted a 144 figure in winning a well-run Kerrymaid Hurdle, while the evergreen Wicklow Brave ran a 136 time in beating Jan Maat (130) again in a novice chase. A reminder that jumps figures are on a level approximately 40 higher than the flat and that Dr Mikey has not suddenly transformed into a jumping equivalent of Frankel!