IT was little surprise that the Dewhurst winner St Mark’s Basilica has now topped the two-year-old rankings.

Yet, with a Timeform rating of 122p, he falls some way short of the 134 they gave Pinatubo last year.

In the official end-of-year ratings, 128 was awarded to Pinatubo and previous year’s winner Too Darn Hot was officially 126.

St Mark’s Basilica has size and scope, but there were excuses for two or three rivals who had previously looked decent.

Mill Reef winner Alkumait pulled too hard early, Joseph O’Brien had expressed going fears for Thunder Moon and the colt did not produce the turn of foot that he had at the Curragh, while Richard Hannon had expressed acting on the track as a worry for Chindit. That colt failed to get a clear run and if his trainer had concerns about the track, they were thus compounded.

The most obvious thing from all the current top 10s is the absence of any John Gosden-trained two-year-old. On recent years’ evidence, that’s something that could yet be rectified before the end of the year.

Remember we first saw Enable on a racecourse on November 28th, Golden Horn on October 29th and Cracksman on October 19th. Forget the Dewhurst; start watching those end-of-season maidens.

FOR some odd reason I found Ruby Walsh having to pronounce the name Blankiedoodie many times in interviews last week quite amusing.

But it was nothing to hearing the cleverly concealed way that Mine Me Will He sounded in the commentary from Punchestown on Tuesday this week.

TRAINERS land gambles all the time. They keep a bit up their sleeve from the handicapper.

Yet the indignation when the handicapper reacts to having the wool pulled over his eyes and does his job in giving the horse a hefty rise in the ratings is also a bit amusing.

In the aftermath of the gamble on Dreal Deal his trainer Ronan McNally protested in a Guardian article.

“He’s going up by 19lb because of this whole storm on social media. That’s nearly like the horse winning four races. What’s the chance of him going and winning off 19lb higher now? It’s near impossible. There’s £6,000 made [prize money] and now I’m on a hiding to nothing.”

His two easy flat wins this week off an initial rating of 45 show there were plenty of races to be found.