BATTAASH’S win in the King George at Goodwood might have been the timing highlight of the past week, or many a week, but it came in a Group 2 and not one of the meeting’s Group 1s. The Goodwood Cup, and the other Tuesday action, was dealt with in last week’s ‘Time Will Tell’ column, leaving the Sussex Stakes and the Nassau Stakes to be covered among the highest tier of races at the Qatar-backed meeting.

The last four days of Goodwood were very different to that opening day in terms of ground conditions as a result of a deluge on Wednesday, when nearly a month’s rain fell in 12 hours. The Sussex Stakes on Wednesday took place on “heavy” going (despite the official verdict), and on the following days it was soft ground until becoming more like good to soft on Saturday.