This certainly seemed to be the case in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.

Noble Mission made the running at a moderate pace then accelerated from half a mile out to stretch his rivals. He looked sure to win when three and a half lengths clear with a furlong left to run. He was still two and a half lengths clear with just half a furlong left but tiring quickly.

You can see just how quickly Noble Mission slowed in the last furlong from his sectional times. He completed the third last furlong in 11.79 seconds, the second last in 11.86 seconds but then ran out of gas to take 13.01 seconds for the final furlong.

Noble Mission dislikes fast ground and has already had five starts this season, so I imagine he will now be rested to wait for the slower ground in the autumn.

Spiritjim (35-pace adjusted 40) picked up well to catch the fading runner-up. He has now won seven of the eight times he’s gone 10 furlongs or more. It could be that Spiritjim is best in small fields as his only loss over 10 furlongs plus came the one time he faced more than a single figure field. I’d be interested if he was supplemented for the Grosser Preis von Baden which usually features a single figure field.

The smart filly Siljan’s Saga (35-pace adjusted 40) finished strongly in tandem with the winner to nearly get up for second. She’s very stoutly bred on her dam’s side and can get caught flat-footed in sprint finishes or on fast ground.

She’s more than capable of winning a Group 1 for fillies, but this run strengthens my view that it won’t be in the Vermeille. The downhill penultimate furlong there ensures that the leaders rarely tire quickly.

The one race Siljan’s Saga would be nailed on to win, providing there’s cut in the ground, would be the Park Hill Stakes. I think it’s a pity she wasn’t entered for the Yorkshire Oaks as that race would have been a good target too.

Fourth placed Narniyn (34-pace adjusted 39) had won four in a row prior to this good run, including a Group 3 against males at Longchamp. She’s a big, strong filly but looked to be running on empty in the final furlong. I imagine she will now be cut back to the 10 furlongs.

Fifth-placed Flintshire (33-pace adjusted 38) showed once more that he can’t produce his best on anything but a fast surface. His only loss in four tries on good or faster ground came when he ran second to Cirrus Des Aigles in the Coronation Cup. This was his fourth loss in four tries on slower ground.

The Breeders’ Cup Turf is his logical target as it is sure to be run on fast ground and he showed he could handle a downhill turf course like Santa Anita when second to Cirrus Des Aigles at Epsom.

The smart German raider Empoli (26-pace adjusted 31) finished quite some way behind. My best bet is that he needs faster ground. I still reckon he could win something big at huge odds on one of his next few starts.