CONSISTENCY, durability and versatility often get overlooked in favour of raw talent, so it is good when they get rewarded, as was the case with Magical winning the QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

Magical is not as good as Enable, having finished behind her five times out of five. But she is not far behind her, either, and she loses nothing to that great mare in terms of those other attributes, with her only unplaced effort of many in the last 12 months – a fifth in this year’s Arc – easily explained as she raced too close to a punishing pace that day.

There was no Enable in opposition on Saturday, and, in the event, no threat of Magical being anything other than perfectly paced by Donnacha O’Brien. She tracked a decent gallop before leading two furlongs out, and kept up to her work, she never looked like being passed thereafter.

Assessing the time performance of a race switched to the inner flat course and increased in distance by eight yards is a tad tricky, but the topography and course conformation were very similar to the usual flat course and I reckon standard times can be copied across then adjusted.

These have Magical running a 122 timefigure, edged up to her previous best of 123 on the back of a 37.54s sectional from three furlongs out (102.6% finishing speed). Only one older female has run higher figures than that in Europe this year, and no prizes for guessing that was 130-rated Enable.

This year’s Champion Stakes was a bit weaker than usual, but an on-form Addeybb, running under just about ideal conditions, ensured that Magical did not have everything her own way, and he kept on well into second for a 124 timefigure and 125 sectional rating.

The Japanese mare Deirdre was just one below her previous best on 117 in third, while Fox Tal offered plenty for next year on 120, a figure easily good enough to win a group race or two just below the very top level.