IT was the winner of the Class 2 Novice Stakes at Newbury on Friday that was most interesting over the weekend, writes Page Fuller. Maltese Cross made hard work of his win, but his Time Index of 6.7 out of 10 was the highest of the meeting. This meant that, considering the race conditions, he had the most impressive win time over the two days’ action.

The key to why he looked so workmanlike lies in his stride data. From his three runs so far, we can see that he is a big striding horse, but he is unable to turn his stride over fast enough to quicken. His average stride length in all three starts has ranked the second or third longest in the field, but his stride frequency is lower than his rivals.