THERE were just three group races in Ireland and Britain in the period under review, and all of those were Group 3s. Nonetheless, the performance of Actress in winning the TRM Ballyogan Stakes at the Curragh on Friday ticked plenty of the right boxes in terms of time.

While it was the only race over six furlongs on the card, it compares well in average speeds with other races at less than a mile and results in a 110 timefigure for the Aidan O’Brien-trained winner. That is a rung or two below the best sprinters around, but that gap would be closed in part by the sex allowance to which Actress is entitled.