THE 2018 Investec Derby at Epsom did not provide the result most anticipated – with Saxon Warrior’s Triple Crown dream falling at the second hurdle – but it lacked nothing in intrigue and spectacle, and the clock suggests that Masar is an up-to-scratch winner of the great race.

It also provided plenty to look forward to, with some questions still to be answered and some scores to be settled.

Direct comparisons between the winning time of the Derby (2m 34.93s) and the previous day’s Coronation Cup won by Cracksman (2m 38.49s) and Oaks won by Forever Together (2m 40.39s) need to take into account the fact that Saturday’s race was run at 12 yards shorter than Friday’s races and that conditions had dried markedly – from the soft side of “good-to-soft” to pretty much spot on “good” – in the 24 hours in between.

Nonetheless, Masar’s time was a good one in the way that really matters – in comparison with others on the day – and was 0.63s quicker than the useful handicap which followed it in which the year older Dash Of Spice carried 10lbs less. That is a smaller difference than usual between the Derby and the handicap, but the latter has been unevenly-run surprisingly often and sectionals confirm that was not the case here.

I have a 123 timefigure on Masar, with 120 on the placed horses Dee Ex Bee and Roaring Lion, and Saxon Warrior on 115 (two below his Guineas-winning figure). Masar’s figure is the highest by a three-year-old in Europe to this point.

A more detailed breakdown of the Derby shows that it was run at a strong pace early, with the leader getting to the top of the hill and then to the path entering the straight in 1.35s and 1.20s (seven to eight lengths) faster than par.

No surprise, then, that most of the principals came from mid-to-rear, with the notable exception being Hazapour (111), who shaped quite a bit better than the result in travelling strongly on the heels of the leaders and striking for home briefly after three furlongs out.

Masar was delivered soon after that, with his long, raking, stride taking him to the front and then ensuring he remained on top. Roaring Lion came after him but seemed to run out of stamina in the final furlong, while Dee Ex Bee kept working away and got back up into second, shaping like a St Leger type.

Masar’s time from crossing the path 3.45f from the finish (derived from video analysis as British racing once again could not be bothered to provide sectionals) was the slowest this decade at 41.57s: Golden Horn had been quickest at 38.22s.

My conclusions from the 2018 Derby include: that Masar is a very classy individual, as his superb sectionals in the Craven had suggested he was, if probably vulnerable to a real top-notcher; that Roaring Lion and Hazapour are likely to make an even bigger mark back at around 10 furlongs; and that there were no significant excuses for those farther back.

Saxon Warrior’s effort is the puzzler. While not disgraced, he never quite looked like the horse he had been at Newmarket (or at Doncaster), having got worked up beforehand and possibly struggled with some of the gradients. He must be better than this, though I would still have him just behind Masar in the betting for the Irish Derby at the Curragh on June 30th.