IN common with an Olympics which has severely tested the sleep patterns of sports enthusiasts across the land, the main horseracing events of the last weekend occurred in different time zones to usual.

Staying up for the Arlington Million XXXIV Stakes in Chicago on Saturday night proved to be a minor inconvenience, with an off-time just on the right side of midnight.

And it was worth the effort to see the suitably-named Mondialiste (which means “globalist” in French) come out on top for British-based Irishman David O’Meara, with the Aidan O’Brien-trained Deauville a close third. The only disappointment for European racing fans was the fact that Tryster, who got worked up beforehand, finished only eighth. This was a success for enterprise and placement rather than an announcement that a new equine star had been born: Mondialiste was the best horse in the race beforehand, with the possible exception of Tryster, and had to dig quite deep to prevail in a tight finish.

Mondialiste’s Arlington performance is in line with his previous best on time of 118 and does seem to confirm that Time Test had to run pretty well to beat him by three-quarters of a length at York the time before. Weight-for-age counted against three-year-olds slightly, and Deauville goes up to a new high of 119 as a result of his effort here.

RIBCHESTER

Deauville, the racecourse, exists in a time-zone only one hour out from the Irish and British one at this time of the year, meaning that Sunday’s highlight – the Prix Jacques le Marois – came at a civilised time in the mid-afternoon. The race proved a success for another Irishman based in North Yorkshire, in Richard Fahey, whose Ribchester made up for a possibly unlucky defeat in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

Ribchester had flown home that day and turned the tables in style on the second, Galileo Gold, who could manage only eighth on this occasion. The overall time of the Marois was only 0.39s quicker than the useful handicap which preceded it, worth a timefigure of 118 for Ribchester. Sectionals point to the Marois having been run in a fair/fast/slow manner, with late closers Spectre and Dicton slightly advantaged, and they also show that both big races at the course the following day were falsely-run affairs.

The Prix du Jockey Club winner Almanzor beat that race’s runner-up Zarak by a length in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano, and showed a turn of foot at the business end which suggests connections are right to harbour doubts about the colt’s ability to stay much beyond this 10f.

The 2015 Arc third New Bay has shown he stays 12f already, and his win in the Prix Gontaut-Biron strongly suggested he is back to near his best, despite the overall time being over 3 seconds slower again than had been recorded by Almanzor.