I make a speed rating for the final time and another one for the fastest comparative section, multiply each by the number of furlongs they involved, add them together then divide the sum by the total number of furlongs of the full and sectional sections. This has proven to produce very reliable ratings, much more reliable than straightforward assessments of final time.

I normally compare a slow run race with the fastest on the card. When I did this with the Prix de Sandringham I came up with a rating of 42 for the winner Fintry.

I downloaded the videos of all the races, checked the sectionals and final times and couldn’t find an error. So I figured that maybe the fastest race (the Prix du Jockey Club) was so fast run the pace collapsed in the closing stages, inflating the comparative rating for the closing stages of the Prix de Sandringham.

This led me to compare the sectionals with the next fastest race, the big handicap over the same course and distance. I was dumbfounded when this produced the same rating of 42 for Fintry.

By making absolute maximum use of the wiggle room I have for saying the big handicap was below par for the class I can massage the rating for Fintry (32-pace adjusted 40) down to 40. It probably should be 41 but I want to be cautious because it’s so darned big for a three-year-old filly this early in the season. (It’s big for a three-year-old colt this early in the season too.)

The remarkable thing is Fintry was eased in the last 50 yards but for which she’d have won by about another length. Equally remarkable is that the race was a mile and Fintry is clearly built and bred for 10 furlongs.

Fintry’s only loss in four starts to date came when she ran two lengths second to Pouliches runner up Veda at Longhcamp. That was her seasonal debut and she earned the following comment from Paris Turf, “moved well to the finish without being pushed’’.

That is certainly true. She cruised through the final furlong full of running with her jockey just nudging her along with hands and heels. This time around Veda finished nearly four lengths behind Fintry in sixth. My ratings suggest she ran up to form.

Fintry holds an entry for the Prix de Diane. It looks a hot race this year and Fintry isn’t even quoted in the ante-post betting.

However, she looks the most likely winner to me on this performance.

Runner-up La Hoguette (31-pace adjusted 39) picked up well towards the finish, partly because the winner was eased. It’s hard to see her turning this form around with Fintry in the Prix de Diane.

But there’s a good chance she’d stay the distance on physique and pedigree and she certainly has decent form.

Third-placed Kenzadargent (31-pace adjusted 39) ran a big race to be a close third. She’d earned a similarly big rating from me when runner-up to the smart Vazira on her previous start. She’s in the Prix de Diane too and must have a shot. Though, as with the runner-up, I wouldn’t want to bet on her turning the form around with the winner. Most likely her best chance of Group 1 success will be when her new owner ships her to America later this season.