READERS looking to get an edge in this great game of ours could do worse than specialise in top-level French flat racing.

It features regular raiders from Ireland and Britain, more than a few of which end up overpriced, and most races are accompanied by on-screen sectionals which aid greatly in analysis during and after the event.

At the same time, many of the better-known form sources give it remarkably short shrift, at least from a timing point of view.

Sunday’s Prix Maurice de Gheest proved a notable success for past sectional analysis – with the standout horse from the July Cup, Brando, going in at a double-figure price – but there is no time to rest on any laurels as there are some more sectional nuggets for the future to be dug out.

The overall time of 1m15.61s (equivalent of 11.70s/f) was 1.28s outside the course-and-distance record, set by Moonlight Cloud in this contest in 2013, and suggests the ground may have been a bit quicker than good, which was the official description.

That becomes more plausible still when one considers that they went even faster during the middle stages on this occasion than they had done in Moonlight Cloud’s year.

Indeed, they went too fast. The leader this time round, Signs Of Blessing, got to 600 metres out 0.44s quicker than the leader did in 2013 and to 400 metres out 0.82s quicker. That was unsustainable, and Signs Of Blessing thereafter weakened into fifth.

Even Brando was going faster than par mid-race, and he was several lengths back. The 1-2-3 at the line were in eighth, seventh and 12th respectively by my reckoning with just 600 metres to go. I have a 120 timefigure for Brando.

Brando best

The sectional number crunching, whereby each horse’s overall time is modified in line with the difference between their finishing speed percentage and the par finishing speed percentage for course and distance, has Brando best in the race, but only just from the aforementioned Signs Of Blessing.

Seventh-placed The Right Man, 10th-placed Bound For Nowhere and even 12th-placed Intelligence Cross get major upgrades for doing too much too soon.

The last-named was the one harrying Signs Of Blessing for much of the way, something which did neither horse any good and which did not produce the desired result for Intelligence Cross’ stablemate Caravaggio, either.

Signs Of Blessing has a couple of efforts which suggest he can win a big sprint if things go right for him, though that is unlikely to happen if his jockey insists on simply going faster than the next-fastest horse. Nonetheless, he is still a gelding to be interested in.

Caravaggio, on the other hand, has gone from potential champion sprinter to one who has been put in his place twice in quick succession at the top level.

Racing is a funny old game in which horses are often not as bad as they first appear and sometimes not as good, either.

Caravaggio was reportedly sore after this effort, and might well have been unsuited by a steady pace at Newmarket the time before. Then again, it is increasingly looking as if he got let in the back door by Harry Angel at Royal Ascot.

Brando is down to 5/1 for the Sprint Cup at Haydock, having been advised here at double those odds previously.

A fair chance in that race would become a distinctly good one if Harry Angel were to go elsewhere.