LAST week, I looked at the first day of the Sky Bet Ebor meeting and highlighted the taking performance of Ombudsman in a chaotic Juddmonte International. He produced a smart turn of foot, producing the fastest finish of the meeting with a Finishing Speed Percentage (FSP) of 109.56%. He was ridden by William Buick, who had a superb week. He operated at an impressive 29% with six wins from his 21 rides. The odds only expected him to have three winners and, in riding twice as many, he recorded an impressive A/E of 1.95 (Actual winners as against expected winners).

Conditions on the first day of the meeting were hard to assess given the strong headwind in the home straight. The average Race IQ Time Index on the day was 2.8, which is a lot lower than could be expected on ground described as Good to Firm (Good in places). The scores were much higher for the rest of the meeting as the wind abated and were commensurate with ground that was Good.