IT was generally felt before last weekend that the Tattersalls-backed Irish versions of the Guineas, with their betting headed by horses who had been beaten at Newmarket, would be weaker than the British ones. But, in the event, that might not have been the case, and in time terms there is certainly an argument to suggest the opposite.

Romanised’s win in the 2,000 Guineas on Saturday was a surprise, but his time was comfortably fastest of four at a mile on the card and equates to a timefigure of 121 in my book. That is the best by a three-year-old in Ireland and Britain so far this year, if only narrowly, and compares to a base figure of 117 by Saxon Warrior at Newmarket.