TimeformBlog

The middle weeks of May can provide something of a lull in Britain (after The 1000 and 2000 Guineas but before The Derby and The Oaks) but racing is an increasingly international sport and there was no lack of interest elsewhere.

In particular, the early hours of Saturday saw many British racing enthusiasts switching on to watch the Australian sprint sensation Black Caviar extend her unbeaten run to 13 in a Group 1 at Doomben. This she did comfortably by two lengths from her old adversary Hay List, the mare posting a 133 figure (2 lb below her peak) in scoring readily.

The pair were clear, and Hay List managed to advance his Timeform rating from 127 to 128, a figure good enough to make him a clear Champion Sprinter candidate if connections were to tire of playing second fiddle to Black Caviar and decide to have a go at some of the top British races.

Master ratings represent the high-water mark of a horse's performance and are traditionally used to gauge an individual in a historical context. However, it is also interesting to consider the array of performance ratings which go to prompt any master rating, as they can shed more light on an individual's consistency, durability and versatility.

Black Caviar scores highly in this respect also. She has now posted four performances worthy of ratings in excess of 130 on Timeform ratings. This has her behind only Curlin and Montjeu (five apiece) and alongside Sea The Stars, ex-Australian So You Think and Dylan Thomas among horses to have run worldwide this century (ratings allow for ease of victory where possible). And there is no sign of her stopping!

The focus turned the following day to Longchamp and the French version of The Guineas. The impression made by the respective winners were contrasting: Golden Lilac won the fillies' contest in good style with an above-standard 120 Timeform performance, while Tin Horse took what seemed a slightly below-par colts' event with only 118.

Golden Lilac is now rated 2 ahead of the Newmarket 1000 Guineas winner Blue Bunting, each filly having a "p" on her rating indicating likely further improvement.

The main event of the week in Britain was the Dante Meeting at York. A surprising number of the races were messy affairs, resulting in poor timefigures. That comment applies to the Dante Stakes itself, but Carlton House did win the race authoritatively to go to the head of the ante-post Derby market.

Both race standards and prior-rating standards point to a performance figure for Carlton House of 117 (timefigure of only 58), but, on 122, he has been kept 3 lb ahead of the runner-up Seville. Pisco Sour, in third, has been raised from 105 to 109.

The Derby has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent times and the 10-year average rating by the race winner stands at 127.8. It is highly likely that Carlton House will have to improve further to prevail at Epsom in June: he and Seville still have a "p" symbol on their ratings.

Delegator (125), Duncan (124) and Midday (126) all won good races at York, but only the last-named had to run to her best in so doing.

The Group 1 Lockinge Stakes was the highlight of Newbury's Saturday card. The odds-on Canford Cliffs was made to work a bit to beat the Italian-trained Worthadd by a length and a quarter, though the pair were comfortably clear. Race standards point to a maximum rating of 127, prior ratings to a bit higher, while the timefigure was a pretty healthy 123.

In the end, our handicapper has rated Canford Cliffs as running to 128 (Worthadd 125) and has left the colt's master rating at 131. It was his first run of the campaign, and only ninth in all, and it is possible he will leave this figure behind in the coming months.

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