THE very name of the Phoenix Stakes evokes memories of bygone glories, of stars of yesteryear at a racecourse – Phoenix Park – that is no longer with us. The event was won in 1951 by one of Timeform’s most highly rated horses of all time, Windy City, who scored by eight lengths.

The race long since moved to the Curragh and up in trip to six furlongs, and it has been sponsored recently by Keeneland. Similarly high standards have been maintained, with recent winners having included such illustrious names as George Washington, Mastercraftsman and Caravaggio.

The question is whether this year’s winner, Sioux Nation, deserves to be mentioned in that sort of breath or has more in common with some of the relatively forgettable winners over the years.

Perhaps he is somewhere in between. There is plenty to like about Sioux Nation, but he didn’t exactly win impressively and his time was decent at best.

This year’s Phoenix Stakes was not run at an especially sound pace, as sectionals of around 38.0s for the first half and under 34.0s for the faster runners in the second half of the six-furlong race show. Sioux Nation quickened best before Beckford started to reduce the deficit close home, with half a length between them at the line.

BETTER PROSPECTS

The first two get timefigures of 107 and 105, which are just outside the top 10 for juveniles in Ireland and Britain this year. With the future in mind, Sioux Nation looks a sprinter to me, while Beckford has better prospects of getting 7f and possibly a mile.

The Phoenix Stakes was nonetheless run in an overall time that was 0.05s quicker than that recorded by Washington DC in winning the ATR Phoenix Sprint shortly after. Both that comparison and sectional ones reflect poorly on the older horse and those he beat.

The 91 timefigure that Washington DC gets is not group standard however you dress it up. He owns a 119 timefigure from earlier in the campaign, but this race might not have taken a whole lot of winning.

Elsewhere on the Curragh card, there was an impressive winning time from Brick By Brick in the opener (96 timefigure, the fourth-fastest in a juvenile maiden this year), an unimpressive one from Mendelssohn (46, on account of a slow early pace) and something in between from Muirin (81). All three have the potential to get better.

QUIET WEEKEND

A quiet weekend on the racing front nearer to home meant that Sioux Nation’s 107 timefigure ended up as the joint-best in Ireland and Britain in the period under review, and the other horse to achieve that figure was a fellow O’Brien inmate in Sir John Lavery, winner of the Listed Platinum Stakes at Cork in good style on his return to a mile.

The timefigures of other listed and group winners suffered as a result of unevenly-run races. Eziyra at Cork, Spanish Steps at Leopardstown and Tajaanus at Newmarket registered figures in the 80s, and Frankuus at Haydock (Rose of Lancaster Stakes) only did a little better on 91.

The Shergar Cup at Ascot did prompt a trio of useful timefigures, however. Stake Acclaim (104) and Sir Robert Cheval (106) were the one-two in the Dash, and Contango (103) found only the more lightly-weighted Glenys The Menace (94) too good in the Classic.

There is no denying the promise of recent Irish two-year-old winners Riyazan (the Curragh), Landshark (Leopardstown) and Ballet Shoes (Tipperary), but none of their winning times was up to very much, worth timefigures of 78, 81 and 82 respectively.