Secret was slow on the clock

THE main race in Britain over the same period was the Temple Stakes at Haydock, which did little to clarify the picture among the better sprinters.

The leaders went quite hard, and Pearl Secret rallied to hold another strong-finisher in Jack Dexter, but overall timefigures for the first two of 111 and 110 respectively are substandard at this level.

Angel fires a Beverley bullet

One young filly who looks worth a try against the best of her sex and age in the weeks ahead is Easton Angel, who zipped home to win the five-furlong Hilary Needler Trophy at Beverley in 61.52s.

The daughter of Dark Angel’s time was 1.90s faster than the three-year-old maiden winner Taffetta and 0.69s faster than the unbeaten two-year-old colt First Selection earlier on the card: a timefigure of 95 for Easton Angel can be considered a minimum.