WHAT a difference a day makes! Just 24 little hours after the apple of Aidan O’Brien’s eye had flopped in the 2000 Guineas, the trainer recorded a one-two-three in the QIPCO 1000, courtesy of Minding, Ballydoyle and Alice Springs.

Minding was every bit as impressive as Air Force Blue had been unimpressive, though her overall time (1 minute 36.53s) and resulting timefigure (110) suffers slightly in comparison with Galileo Gold’s from the day before.

Those TurfTrax sectionals show that the fillies’ race was several lengths behind where the colts had been until past halfway but faster at the business end. All of the first eight in the 1000 ran the final furlong quicker than had Galileo Gold (13.28s), with Minding and Ballydoyle quickest of all on 12.70s.

Minding had already shown she could run faster from start to finish in relative terms when winning the Fillies’ Mile on this course with a 117 timefigure. Unlike the principals in the 2000, all of O’Brien’s trio seem likely to stay further.

Minding will surely take the world of beating in the Oaks (the Derby usually takes quite a bit more winning, and Midterm is shaping up well for that anyway), especially as the ante-post second favourite for the race, So Mi Dar, has plenty still to prove having run no quicker than 86 in time terms in her two runs to date.

Another Oaks fancy, Swiss Range, was impressive when winning the Listed Tweenhills Pretty Polly Stakes later on the 1000 Guineas card, but this was a steadily-run contest in which she had much the best turn of foot. Her timefigure of 86 (94 previously) undersells her ability but leaves doubts about her stamina.

Third-placed Even Song (75 timefigure, 88 previously) got into trouble before finishing well but has achieved considerably less than some other O’Brien inmates, and not just in terms of time.