IT is very early days in the 2020 international flat racing season but there may not be many performances in it better than the one put up by Ghaiyyath in the Group 3 Dubai Millennium Stakes at Meydan last week.

It was only a Group 3, and the opposition was not especially strong, but Ghaiyyath wiped the floor with them and broke the 2000-metre turf track record in the process. I have a figure of 123 on this (reminder that my ratings are now on the BHA/WBRR level, having previously been about five higher), against Ghaiyyath’s 126 when walking away with the Grosser Preis von Baden last September.

Ghaiyyath followed that astonishing effort with a disappointing 10th in the Arc (in which he went too quickly but should have done better even so). Let’s hope we see more of the good Ghaiyyath in 2020.

The other major time performance at the meeting was Waady’s win in the Meydan Sprint, achieved in 56.87s at 1000 metres on turf. That looks a solid 110 effort, though runner-up Equilateral (107) was probably a shade below the level he showed when beating Waady in a listed handicap the time before.

Another also-ran in the Arc who should have done better is French King, who bounced back to win a Group 1 at Doha at the weekend with something like a 110 performance. He had registered 118 when beating Communique and Old Persian in Germany last summer.

Nearer to home, Dubai Warrior proved to be a good winner of the Betway Winter Derby at Lingfield, though helped by a well-judged ride from Frankie Dettori and the slight under-performance of his main rival, Bangkok (108 here compared to 114 previously).

Dubai Warrior’s overall time was 1.10s slower than Bangkok had recorded in the Winter Derby Trial earlier in the month, though most of that was down to different conditions (wind as well as track speed). However, Dubai Warrior ran the last three furlongs 1.49s quicker, leading to a sectional rating of 116, which is one of the best ever on all-weather in Britain/Ireland.

Fontwell

The importance of pace was even more starkly illustrated the following day over jumps at Fontwell in the National Spirit Hurdle. After a steady opening section, the leaders really kicked on from six furlongs out, so much so that Quel Destin and Thomas Darby went clear on what was heavy going.

They were treading water as they came to the final flight and the run-in lasted an eternity (24.2s), with William Henry – matched at 579/1 in running – forging past near the line. Flat or jumps, it will always catch up with you if you race as inefficiently as that.

Quel Destin and Thomas Darby are now on 154 – still something like 10lb shy of Champion Hurdle standard – while William Henry has been put back on 153 but undoubtedly “lucked out” here.