MOST sectional upgrades occur when a horse runs steadily early and faster later but it works the other way round also. If a horse runs inefficiently, it does not matter at what stage of the race it happened, it will affect that horse’s overall time and its chances of winning or running well.

Exhibit A in the “went too fast early” case is this year’s Preakness Stakes, in which Nyquist squandered any chance he might have had of adding the second leg of the US Triple Crown to the first (the Kentucky Derby) by setting suicidal fractions in the opening quarter of a mile.

With a 10-yard “run-up” (the initial part of the race, not included for timing purposes), Nyquist shared with Uncle Lino a 22.38s opening sectional which was the fastest in Preakness history and faster than many good sprinters could achieve.

Come the line, four of the first five places were filled by horses who had been in eighth, 10th, seventh and 11th in an 11-runner field with a circuit to go, the exception being Nyquist himself, who hung on for third despite being out on his feet in the closing stages.

Timeform US, who adjust their final figures for the sectionals which give rise to them, had both Nyquist and the winner Exaggerator at 122, the former having been awarded a 123 in the Kentucky Derby.

Exaggerator is an average winner of the Preakness while Nyquist is a bit better than that.

The latter would be a formidable opponent for the Europeans in the Breeders’ Cup if he got there on-song.

Nyquist currently has a temperature and high blood count so will be out of action for a while.