AS we are now around mid-season in the top flat contests, it’s worth having a glance back to see how last season’s crop of top two-year-olds are doing. And a few surprises among those top flat horses.

By this time last year, City Of Troy had two impressive wins in the bag and was being hailed as a special talent.

It’s curious then how things can develop over 12 months. After Notable Speech won the Sussex Stakes this week to add to his earlier win in the 2000 Guineas, Charlie Appleby’s recap contained the comment: “Someone asked me yesterday, where was Notable Speech this time last year? I said he’d only just turned up in the yard and was probably doing one canter up our short canter of five furlongs, no more than that.”

It shows that star three-year-olds build from all different stages of development. Of the top 10 or so colts of 2023, Bucanero Fuerte, Vandeek, Henry Longfellow, Alyanaabi, Iberian have been disappointing. Ancient Wisdom has a little more to do. But City Of Troy and Rosallion have built on their fine two-year-old careers.

Fillies

In the top 35 there were eight fillies and they have fared better with Opera Singer, Porta Fortuna and Fallen Angel all Group 1 stars, while Ramatuelle has a big chance tomorrow for a Group 1.

Saturday’s King George also had one come from left-field in Goliath (127) running out and impressive winner, a performance that puts him right towards Timeform’s top in the middle-distance division in Europe.

White Birch is their top on 128 but if Goliath’s performance was a big improvement on past runs, I’d feel the same about White Birch’s Tattersalls Gold Cup.

Write off

Many were quick to write off Justify’s two stars of last season after the two Guineas. Perhaps it was the hype over the sire that caused the cynical reaction. Aidan doubled down on it again at Goodwood. “Justifys – the one thing about them, they don’t stop. Every one of them, they keep going.”

Though perhaps after watching the ride on Opera Singer, it might be a case of “Listen, what did I tell you!”

The man knows best.

THERE was plenty to mull over in Charlie Appleby’s comments on Notable Speech. “What I love about him is that he hasn’t got great stride length, but he turns those legs over quick, and that’s why you see that acceleration. You’ll see plenty of horses in the morning that have great stride length and everyone will be very excited about it, but I like it when they turn them over quicker. It’s normally a sign that they can quicken up.”

By contrast, Opera Singer looked to be really stretching out when she came under pressure in the Nassau. And now we have the data to clarify it all, or do we?

The RaceiQ data on Notable Speech gave his average stride length in the race as 7.24 metres. Opera Singer’s was less at 7.21 metres.

This is interesting if stretching her out to a mile and a half is the intention.

All the extra data is great, but do we really know what it is indicating?

Forget the boxing, the bout of the week was on ITV Racing on Wednesday with Jason Weaver and Johnny Murtagh taking different sides after the controversial finish to the Oak Tree Stakes.

First past the post by a head was Jabaara with Raqiya a closing second.

Murtagh was adamant that, because he saw the original winner as a length and a half clear – it did only look a length – the drift across his rival and Jim Crowley having to manoeuvre out around to get into the clear, mattered little.

However, it’s difficult not to see that the basic rules to keep straight were broken by Jabaara, and Crowley was only reacting early to a situation where he was going to be cut off anyway and snatch up. He lost three strides of forward motion, and he was unable to use his whip for that time.

It had some resemblance to the finish of the William Hill Aintree Hurdle at Aintree where the placings were, however, not reversed after Impaire Et Passe had hung across to the rail and hampered Langer Dan, causing that horse to be switched and, as he rallied, he was only beaten a nose and a neck. What was more, Townend on the winner did nothing to correct his horse, using his whip in the wrong hand. James Doyle on Wednesday had his in the correct one.

But the Goodwood decision looked the correct one.

JAN Brueghel made hard work of seeing off his Gordon Stakes rivals but the Leger is his target and along with Illinois and Content, look the likely ones to give Galileo his 100 individual Group 1 or Grade 1 winner. At this stage, Illinois may look the more likely.

WHEN the IHRB announced that all trainers with entries in the two big races would be subject to extra scrutiny, no one could have expected a scenario that saw the Hurdle favourite withdrawn due to a positive drugs test a month previously. Otherwise, Galway again delivered some great action and a broad share of winning owners.