THE two Group 3s which did take place in Ireland and Britain in the period under review did not tell us a whole lot in terms of time.

Both the Icon Meld Stakes at Leopardstown on Thursday and the Hackwood Stakes at Newbury last Saturday took place on rain-softened ground, and the former was run at a dawdle.

Moonlight Magic just got the better of the front-running Deauville in the nine-furlong Meld, but with the pair running the last two furlongs in well under 24.0s despite the conditions while recording timefigures of just 42 and 44 (Deauville was conceding weight). That is a finishing speed (speed at finish compared to average speed for race overall) of 111.4% where about 103% is par.

ON SONG

Moonlight Magic has more pace than might be imagined of a colt who ran in the Derby last year and has mostly contested mile and a quarter races since.

Magical Memory has never been short of pace, running exclusively at five and six furlongs to date, and his Hackwood win confirmed he is back on song.

That said, his defeat of the outsiders Perfect Angel and Lady Macapa at Newbury resulted in a timefigure of 109 when his career best is a 120 from winning the Duke of York Stakes last year.

Magical Memory has come up slightly short when faced with his stiffest tests, and that seems likely to continue to be the case.

The fastest timefigure in Ireland and Britain in the last week came from What About Carlo in winning a listed contest on that same Newbury card, an effort which earned him a 111 figure.

What About Carlo had looked a smart handicapper rather than group class prior to this and is further testament to the skills of trainer Eve Johnson Houghton, who is having a mighty fine season.