TWO well-run championship events as consecutive races over the same distance on a card which was unaffected by the weather is a dream for time analysts, and that was the exact scenario which transpired at Newmarket last Saturday.

Whatever unfolded in the races themselves, we were going to see how the leading two-year-old colts in the Middle Park Stakes measured up against the leading two-year-old fillies in the Cheveley Park Stakes on the clock.

The result was not exactly what I, for one, was expecting.

Both races were well-run, if the Cheveley Park fractionally more so than the Middle Park, 35 minutes later.

We know this, because video analysis shows that the leader in the former got to halfway in 35.54s and the latter in 35.73s – a difference of only just over a length – while the resulting second-half finishing speeds of 101.4% and 102.1% respectively are both very close to the course-and-distance par.

Therefore, it might be considered a little surprising that Ten Sovereigns, a seemingly superior winner of a Middle Park in which he and Jash pulled clear of their rivals, was only 0.09s (about half a length) quicker at level weights than Fairyland, a somewhat unheralded winner of a Cheveley Park in which less than three lengths covered the first seven home.

SECTIONALS

However good you think Ten Sovereigns is, he was not much better in time terms on the day than Fairyland, or, for that matter, a number of Fairyland’s rivals, and sectionals do not explain that away.

A high figure for one requires a high figure for the other; and, of course, a low figure for one dictates a low figure for the other also.

In the end, I have viewed the efforts positively, if not very positively, and the truth is that Ten Sovereigns needs the principals in the fillies’ race to confirm the form in order to justify his own timefigure from this.

My ratings are 114 for Ten Sovereigns – good, but fully 10lbs in arrears of divisional leader Quorto – and 112 for Jash, with Fairyland on 112, The Mackem Bullet on 111 and So Perfect on 109. It is worth noting that the first seven in the Cheveley Park all recorded times quicker than third-placed Rumble Inthejungle (100 timefigure).

Fairyland and The Mackem Bullet might have achieved more than it first appeared when separated by a hair’s breadth in the Lowther Stakes at York the time before. But it is even more likely that they both improved, and by similar amounts.

I would resist the knee-jerk temptation to downgrade the Prix Morny at Deauville, where Pretty Pollyanna (fourth here) had beaten Signora Cabello (10th here) in a fast time with the smart True Mason well back in third. Pretty Pollyanna had also run very fast when winning easily on this course in July.

Nonetheless, so far so very good for Ten Sovereigns, who has won three races in quick succession now, and who certainly promises much for next year. Incidentally, he again strode like a six/seven furlong performer here, with quite a quick turnover to go with a longer-than-average stride.

The inter-relatedness of time analysis means that a fairly positive view of those two races also necessitates a fairly positive view of the opening Royal Lodge Stakes, which otherwise looks a bit flimsy on form.

Mohawk gets credited with a timefigure of 110, upgraded to 113 on sectionals – easily the best at a mile by a juvenile so far this year – with Sydney Opera House on 106 (108 on sectionals) and Cape Of Good Hope on 102 (103). Time will tell if it all works out.