THE ground was fast at Newbury, and it had also been firm at York earlier in the week for the Dante Meeting. Not just overall times back up the latter assertion, but closing sectionals, some of which were remarkably quick.

The quickest of all on the opening two days were those of Roaring Lion in winning the Betfred Dante Stakes by a clear margin. Make no mistake, this was not much of a test of stamina, with an overall timefigure on the winner of just 95 but a last three furlongs of 33.85s.

That was quicker than recorded by the outstanding sprinter Harry Angel (34.20s) in the Duke of York Stakes and by the smart sprint handicappers George Bowen (34.05s) and El Astronaute (34.00s), and – no – you didn’t read that wrong!

It was only late on the Friday that Koditime (33.80s) sneaked ahead of Roaring Lion, and that colt was running at five furlongs, less than half of the trip of the Dante.

Roaring Lion looked a high-class performer again in the Dante – his sectionally-adjusted timefigure would be 121 – but even more he showed he is a horse who possesses a great deal of speed.

He should be fine back at a mile, and I would not be having him for the 12 furlongs of the Derby at Epsom (where his tendency to go left could also present a problem), but that is a decision for others to make.

EARLY PACE

One reason why Roaring Lion ran so fast late is because he, and others in the Dante, did not run all that fast early.

That was nowhere near as much the case with Harry Angel (a satisfactory 116 timefigure), George Bowen(108, and in fact he benefited from an overly-strong early pace) and El Astronaute (109), and it most certainly was not the case with Stradivarius in the Yorkshire Cup.

The four-year-old son of Sea The Stars ran the approximate 14 furlongs in a time just 0.19s outside the course record despite 43 yards having been added to the race distance.

That translates into a timefigure of 120 – the best by a winner of the week – and suggests he may be better than ever.

Stradivarius was disadvantaged by the weight-for-age when beaten narrowly by Order Of St George and Torcedor on Champions Day at Ascot in October.

The times recorded by Coronet in the Middleton Stakes (106 timefigure) and Give And Take in the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes (71) were nothing to write home about, though the former was still the best part of 2.0s quicker than Roaring Lion at the same course and distance in the next race.

The Musidora looked a particularly weak renewal of what is sometimes a major Oaks trial, and there should be nothing there to cause supporters of Lah Ti Dar – a rightful favourite for the big race at Epsom in my book – to lose any sleep.

None of the listed races at York was particularly fast, with Threading achieving a 100 timefigure in a mile race for fillies, Main Desire a 96 in a five-furlong contest for three-year-olds and Signora Cabello posting an 87 in a two-year-old fillies’ race also at the minimum trip.