THERE was plenty of interest in the supporting events across the two days of the Curragh as well as at Leopardstown on Sunday.

Friday evening week opened with a really striking two-year-old victory from Admiral Nelson, though his time was unexceptional and goes up to 84 on the back of sectionals (34.09s last three furlongs).

The 10-furlong maiden which followed, won by Galileo Chrome (88 sectional rating, 34.85s split), was highly tactical and promises to produce a stack of winners, such as third-placed Timourid (92, 34.61s), fourth-placed Dawn Rising (94, 34.44s) and sixth-placed Yulong Magicreef (91, 34.44s).

Crossfirehurricane maintained his unbeaten record in the Coolmore Ten Sovereigns Gallinule Stakes, and did well as things were run (35.50s last three furlongs, 108.5% finishing speed), though a 107 sectional rating leaves him some way off the best in the middle-distance classic division.

On the face of it, Leo De Fury looked to put up quite some performance in winning the Coolmore Magna Grecia Mooresbridge Stakes by sizeable margins, but the race fell apart somewhat and a 115 sectional rating (35.29s last three furlongs) reflects this.

Neither Lancaster House (Coolmore Calyx Gladness Stakes) nor Magic Wand (Lanwades Stud Stakes) ran especially fast overall in victory at the Curragh on Sunday, but sectionals elevate their figures to 107 and 110 respectively. Magic Wand showed herself to be capable of 115 in 2019.

I am struggling a bit to get my head around the time recorded by Nickajack Cave in winning the Saval Beg at Leopardstown on Sunday, as it represented the fastest average speed of eight winners on the card and yet was at the longest trip by some way.

Remeasurement exercise

The time is kosher, and Nickajack Cave (112) is a decidedly smart stayer who could make a real impact in staying company this year.

But until Irish racing undertakes a remeasurement exercise like British racing did a few years ago the suspicion is that some analysis (my own included) is based too much on guesswork where race distances are concerned. Heliac’s overall time in winning the Listed Noblesse Stakes compares poorly with the run-of-the-mill handicap which precedes it and can be rated 99 at the absolute most.

Navan had staged a couple of listed races on the Wednesday of last week, with one-time Mehl-Mülhens-Rennen (German 2000 Guineas) winner Ancient Spirit (107), now trained by Jessica Harrington, nosing out the penalised Buckhurst (112) in the one-mile Heritage Stakes and Silence Please (93) doing the same to One Voice (93) in the 10-furlong Salsabil Stakes.