THE Darley Dewhurst Stakes and the bet365 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket last week settled some arguments but prompted a few more, and in all probability they did not settle the question of who is the leading two-year-old colt and filly in Europe this season.

That is not to decry either contest, which were up to, or near to, their usual high standard, but other winning efforts elsewhere of late have at least as strong claims.

The Dewhurst was run in a surprisingly ordinary time, at least on the face of it, though wind might have had a variable effect through the Saturday card. The winner of the opening nursery – 83-rated Wobwobwob – would have finished in mid-division and not so far behind the placed horses if reproducing his time in the big one.

It is, therefore, with a bit of caution that I have awarded St Mark’s Basilica a 120 figure, which is slightly below the usual race standard. Runner-up Wembley gets 118, Thunder Moon 113 and Devilwala (first home of the non-Irish-trained runners) 112.

Cadillac (109 here, 111 previously), Albasheer (107/113) and Fivethousandtoone (110) ran creditably enough in mid-field, but Chindit, Etonian and Alkumait disappointed.

Sectionals show the Dewhurst to have been strongly run, with the winner’s finishing speed of just 98.2%, and I do not share the view that Wembley needs to be upgraded by much, though he does look like being at least as good at 8/10 furlongs.

St Mark’s Basilica is now second on my figures among two-year-old colts in Europe behind the runaway Lagardere winner Sealiway (123), with both behind the US-trained Jackie’s Warrior (125).

Gorgeous pretty smart

Pretty Gorgeous (114) had won the Fillies’ Mile the day before to confirm herself a very smart juvenile filly, though connections of the less battle-hardened runner-up Indigo Girl (also 114, with a slightly bigger sectional upgrade) may fancy their chances of reversing places another day.

Mother Earth, mistakenly running as Snowfall, gets a figure of 111 in third, with Dubai Fountain improving significantly to 110 in fourth. The Fillies’ Mile compares pretty well on time with other races on the card but it was not all that efficiently run, an overly strong pace earlier leading to finishing speed %s in the mid-90s.

Pretty Gorgeous is the best juvenile filly at longer distances in Europe, just, but the speedier Plainchant (dealt with elsewhere) may be better overall and the US has a handful of juvenile fillies who either are, or may prove to be, better than that anyway.