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.

Those extreme conditions gave rise to an unsatisfactory Sussex, in which Churchill was withdrawn on the day and the odds-on Ribchester was downed by the unfancied mudlark Here Comes When.

The overall time of 1m46.11s was reportedly the slowest since the race was opened to older horses in 1959. While that was primarily down to the conditions, an overly-strong pace early on also played its part, resulting in a decidedly modest 101 timefigure for the winner.

Ribchester was the one setting that pace, and he reached the four-furlong pole in 54.3s when nearly 2.0s slower would have been optimal. All the runners looked to have a chance in the closing stages, and Ribchester managed to rally after his jockey had briefly stopped riding, but the damage had been done by then.

This year’s Sussex was more reminiscent of a jumps contest in midwinter than one of the world’s premier mile races, and it is best to forgive Ribchester this defeat against a smart rival who had things in his favour.

That said, I do have doubts as to whether Ribchester is quite the top-notcher generally imagined, at least before this defeat: he has yet to run a timefigure higher than 119 despite having conducive circumstances a few times now.

WINTER

The opposite pace scenario prevailed in the following day’s Nassau Stakes, in which Winter quickened sharply off a slow pace to beat Blond Me by a length and a half.

The overall timefigure was just 90, but Winter had already shown at Newmarket and Royal Ascot that she can run a fast timefigure, by three-year-old filly standards, of 119.

The question remains, however, as to how far Winter will stay. As a daughter of Galileo who won a Group 1 mile-and-a-quarter race on heavy going with a strong finish, the signs are encouraging.

As a daughter of the six-furlong specialist Laddies Poker Two, who took this with speed rather than stamina, much less so.

It is a good rule of thumb to trust horses to stay beyond their pedigree indicators only when times and sectionals suggest they will.

That is not the case with Winter, who, besides, has yet to show herself to be quite in the Enable bracket if tackling a mile and a half.