THE ground on Derby Day was notably fast, and it had been on the quick side for Investec-sponsored Oaks and the Coronation Cup the day before also.

With 14 yards added to the race distance due to rail movement, a record time was unlikely, but in the event the Coronation Cup was just 0.63s outside the race best and 2.15s faster than the Oaks.

That latter differential is close to the average for the previous decade and reflective of a good time effort in the older-horse race and a respectable one in the fillies’ classic.

Defoe was the winner of the Coronation Cup, a race in which the leaders overdid things slightly and both he and Kew Gardens came from behind to battle it out. This was worth a 123 timefigure for the winner and a 124 one for the runner-up, who was slightly disadvantaged by weight-for-age terms.

Some queried how a horse like Defoe could win a race of this standing, but he had been inconvenienced by a tactical race the time before and needed only one or two (notably Old Persian) to underperform.

Kew Gardens looked all over the winner at one point (touched 1.01 in running) but no blame should be apportioned to Ryan Moore for going too soon, closing sectionals of approximately 11.35s, then 11.5s and finally 11.6s being perfectly reasonable in the circumstances.

It may have been a different story in the Oaks, however. The pace in this was good early but steadied back to par by the time they entered the home straight. Anapurna was well positioned on the heels of the leaders at this point, but Moore on Pink Dogwood came storming down the centre soon after, running a section of about 10.8s to get to the front two furlongs out.

Anapurna ran the same furlong in about 11.15s and rallied thereafter to deny a by-now one-paced Pink Dogwood by a neck. Fleeting came from even further back to be a never-nearer third.

Sectional analysis suggests that Pink Dogwood and Fleeting “should” just about have beaten Anapurna, if for different reasons (premature move and too far back). It should be pointed out that no jockey knows exactly how much horse they had under them until the race has been run.

The long and short of it, however, is that Anapurna gets a 113 time and sectional rating, while Pink Dogwood and Fleeting both get 115 on sectionals. That is not top-drawer stuff, but I would fancy the result to be slightly different under different circumstances.

The most eye-catching effort in behind came from Maqsad, a blatant non-stayer who went from moving up on the bridle with a 11.25s furlong to back-pedalling in the final furlong in over 13.0s. Mehdaayih can also be upgraded, having endured a rough passage almost from the off.

Like the following day’s Derby, the 2019 Oaks was neither definitive nor top-class. But it means there should be plenty to play for when the various contenders meet again.