THE Juddmonte Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh on the Friday attracted only five runners but provided an intriguing clash of the generations, as usual. The race went to a three-year-old, if not the one the market anticipated.

Iridessa stepped up on her form at seven to eight furlongs to beat Magic Wand readily, with the Oaks runner-up Pink Dogwood only third. While the race was a little tactical, sectionals suggest the right filly won. Iridessa’s 111 timefigure gets nudged up to 115 on the back of a 35.5s (106.8%) closing sectional, with Magic Wand weighing in at 110/111 and Pink Dogwood at 105/107.

All in all, the three-year-old filly milers look a better bunch than the same age and sex’s middle-distance performers at this stage.

The Curragh Cup on the same day looks a more suspect piece of form, with Twilight Payment winning from the front with a 111.2% finishing speed, and Latrobe, Southern France and Mustajeer all faster than him from the three-furlong marker.

Twilight Payment’s basic 101 timefigure gets upgraded to 111, but the other three named would all be just ahead of him on sectional ratings, on 115, 113 and 113 respectively.

Speak In Colours (104 timefigure, 105 on sectionals) and Buckhurst (96/101) were worthy, if unspectacular, winners of a listed race and the Group 3 International Stakes on the Saturday, but Insignia Of Rank (90/103) only scraped home ahead in a listed race in which fifth-placed Flight Risk emerges marginally best on sectional ratings on 109.

The case can be made, and indeed has been made, that Siskin is the best two-year-old seen so far this season, following his authoritative win in the Gain Railway Stakes at the Curragh last Saturday.

For instance, he beat the Coventry Stakes fourth Fort Myers by about three lengths more than Arizona had beaten him at Royal Ascot.

Very useful

Maybe, but the apparently ordinary Real Force was just a head behind Fort Myers on this occasion, and the times and sectionals suggest Siskin is very useful but not definitely better than that just yet.

His overall time was 0.95s (about six lengths) slower than Speak In Colours’ and 1.14s slower than the useful handicapper Buffer Zone’s earlier on the same card.

There is an age disparity, of course, but after that has been allowed for I get a 103 timefigure and 108 sectional rating (quite quick 34.27s for the last three furlongs) for the Ger Lyons-trained youngster.

Rather similar praise of the guarded variety applies to Albigna after her win in the Airlie Stud Stakes at the same six furlongs the day before.

Hers was an impressive late run in visual terms, but her overall time was equivalent to a 97 timefigure, rather than better, and sectionals (such as they can be ascertained) show that her nearest rivals wilted near the end.

Albigna ran that final furlong in about 12.65s (96.0% finishing speed) but Precious Moments and Peace Charter both took longer than 13.0s and came back in less than 93%.

I will be rating Albigna the best of the trio at this stage, but her performance might not be quite as good as some were making out immediately after the event.