IT takes a combination of things to see long-standing course records fall, including a superior level of ability from the horse in question, but the most obvious factor is fast ground. The ground was indeed fast at Epsom on Friday and Saturday, and two such records fell on the latter day.

First was Zaaki in the Group 3 Diomed Stakes, in which he ran near-perfect fractions to come from a bit off the pace to beat Oh This Is Us with a 114 timefigure.

His time was 0.36s faster than that recorded by Anna Nerium (just seven hundredths outside the record herself) in the Group 3 Princess Elizabeth Stakes a bit earlier on, but sectionals show that the Princess Elizabeth runner-up Awesometank might well have won had she done a bit less early on. The first two’s sectionally adjusted timefigures come out at 109 and 110 respectively.

Then there was the veteran Watchable scorching the turf in the finale with a 66.20s time for an extended six furlongs. Again, his fractions were near-perfect, and there is no need to upgrade his smart 112 timefigure.

Other fast-clockers across the two days include Pinatubo, who came late to win the Woodcote Stakes with a 108 timefigure that has him marginally the best two-year-old to have been seen to this point, the handicap winner Mountain Angel (109), who is probably going to be worth a try in listed company at some point, and Ornate (108), who avoided the traffic from the lowest stall in the Epsom Dash, in which Harome was one of a few to shape well.

Space Blues did not run especially fast in winning the seven-furlong listed race at Epsom on Friday, but he put in a 10.1s furlong along the way and sectionals have him at a minimum of 113 and ready for a further step up in grade.

Pondus (James Fanshawe) was an impressive all-the-way winner at Sandown last Thursday week, registering a 106 timefigure, while West End Charmer (Mark Johnston) was even more impressive in winning from the front at Doncaster last Saturday, close to the course record and worth at least 108 on the clock. The latter could prove to be group standard.