IT may have been a low-key weekend on the flat in Europe, but that was not the case in the US, where Belmont staged the final leg of the Triple Crown – the Belmont Stakes – and several other big contests.

Tapwrit’s win over a revitalised Irish War Cry in the Belmont Stakes ensured that the three legs of the Triple Crown went to three different horses, with none of them putting up an outstanding performance. The Timeform US 120 figure for Tapwrit is equivalent to nearer 115 over here.

Before bemoaning the classic crop it is worth remembering that at this stage last year Arrogate had won only a maiden special weight from two starts.

Time Test, now in the care of Chad Brown, found Ascend too good in the Manhattan Stakes on a particularly quick turf track (the form rating of 116 on the winner seems a good indication of this performance’s merit).

But the name to note with the future, and the present, in mind is that of Mor Spirit, winner of the Metropolitan Handicap by over six lengths with 11 smart rivals in his wake.

Timeform has the Bob Baffert-trained rig running to 132 in form terms and 130 on time on the US scale.

Even downgrading the latter a bit suggests this was about as good a time performance as has been seen this year outside those of Arrogate and the Australian mare Winx.

It is probably best not to speculate much on the time merit of performances over jumps at Auteuil on Sunday, when the eight races were run over a variety of distances. But there is every indication that Bapaume (second in Prix Alain du Breil) and L’Ami Serge (winner of the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil, with Shaneshill in third) ran as well as, or slightly better than, ever.

L’Ami Serge had looked temperamentally unsatisfactory, as well as a possible non-stayer, in Britain but seems to have turned over a new leaf and got this extended three miles well.