LAST weekend was a bumper edition of action and, with trials and pointers aplenty, how can the metrics help identify horses that might have been overlooked otherwise, asks Page Fuller.

The time index metrics are normally a good starting point and, unsurprisingly, an Aidan O’Brien youngster took top spot for the weekend at Naas. Confucius’ win time of 1m 9.91 seconds in the six-furlong maiden was more than 2.6 seconds faster than our par time. This rated 9.7 out of 10 on the time index. It was also 2.14 seconds faster than the time Albert Einstein posted when winning this race last year.

It was the fashion in which Confucius ran the race that was particularly taking as well. He completed the second, third and fourth furlongs in under 11 seconds and maintained it to the line. His top speed of 41.28mph in the third furlong was the second fastest of the field, and he still completed the final two furlongs faster than any other runner in the race. It was a deserved victory, stepped up to six furlongs after he was caught for speed over five on debut. That’s not to say that it was a bad run on debut, but his top speed of 38.32mph in the second furlong was 1.28mph slower than the winner. He was half a second faster through the final two furlongs, highlighting that six furlongs was always going to suit better.

We’ve already mentioned that last year’s winner was Albert Einstein, who went on to win the Group 3 Marble Hill Stakes next time. There’s no reason why connections wouldn’t follow the same route, and Confucius is certainly another exciting prospect for them.