MUHAARAR was not the only horse to break a track record over the two days at Newbury, with older handicapper Robot Boy doing the same over an extended five furlongs on the Friday.

Quick though his 58.44s was, these things are all relative and the effort by the juvenile Harvard Man over course and distance earlier (adjusted hand time, as electronic timing did not operate) was useful in comparison once age and weight carried is allowed for.

Both Harvard Man (92 timefigure) and runner-up Ring Of Truth (87) are well placed among the juvenile division at this admittedly early stage.

Arab Spring was an authoritative winner of the John Porter Stakes on Newbury’s card but in a slow overall time and with some of his rivals coming back at him at the finish.

He claimed a couple of noteworthy scalps here in Pether’s Moon and Romsdal, but circumstances probably played to his strengths, given the sectional speed he had shown at Royal Ascot last year, and he still has something to prove on the clock.