THERE is no doubt what the older-horse race of the week was in Ireland and Britain.

The Shadwell Joel Stakes at Newmarket on Friday featured a showdown between a Guineas winner in Kameko and a top-class six-year-old in Benbatl, with the former conceding 6lb more than weight-for-age.

Somewhat to my surprise, but seemingly not to others’, Kameko came out on top, with the very smart five-year-old Regal Reality splitting the two at half-length margins.

Perhaps Benbatl was not as fit as anticipated – I don’t accept the idea that he has deteriorated significantly given how well he performed in the Saudi Cup in February – but it probably did not help that he pressed on really aggressively after a tepid opening section of the one-mile race.

Everything in the field came back with negative splits, and Kameko found himself re-enacting his Guineas win, in which the pace had been cutthroat. All told, however, he deserves plenty of credit for winning as he did, and I have nudged him up to a new peak of 124 (Regal Reality 116, Benbatl 114 here, 119 overall).

It took a while, but Kameko, Coolmore’s Wichita (Park Stakes) and Godolphin’s Pinatubo (Prix Jean Prat) have done plenty for that 2000 Guineas form of late.

Upgrading

Many of the other major older-horse races in the period under review were nowhere near as well-run, and the following figures all incorporate an element of upgrading for how the overall times were achieved.

Lady Wannabe managed a 96 figure in winning a listed contest at Listowel, Bowerman remains on 104 after winning the Diamond Stakes at Dundalk (where the surface has returned to normal speed), Ventura Rebel ran a new personal best in landing the Renaissance Stakes at the Curragh with a 108 rating, and Dawn Patrol repeated his 109 from the Irish Derby and Doncaster’s St Leger when a workmanlike winner of the Loughbrown Stakes, also at the Curragh.

In Britain, there were useful wins for Anna Nerium (Goodwood listed, 102), Ranch Hand, Cloak of Spirits and Walton Street (Newmarket listed races, 102, 100 and 108 respectively) and Antonia De Vega, the last-named (111) probably a shade fortunate in getting first run on 112-rated Alpinista in the Princess Royal Muhaarar Stakes at Newmarket.

Near record times

Several of the races at Newmarket on Friday and Saturday got close to breaking track records, which cannot have been all down to the gusting wind – I have gone for “good to firm” going on both days – and Majestic Dawn managed to lower the nine-furlong best (previously set by Lord North in this race 12 months earlier) in the Cambridgeshire Handicap. In a race in which very low stalls might as well have stayed at home, he was always in the vanguard and forged clear to win by nearly five lengths, worth a 106 figure after fast early splits are worked in.