NAVAL Crown (120) made the most of the stands’ side bias which materialised on the straight course on Saturday as he led home a one-two for Charlie Appleby in the Platinum Jubilee.

James Doyle took full advantage of sitting handy against the strong pace set by Home Affairs to finish four and a half lengths clear of his nearest rival stands side, King’s Lynn. However, the margin to his stablemate was much closer and a study of the closing sectionals shows the son of Dubawi needed all his 35.67secs closing sectional to prevail.

In contrast to his stable companion Creative Force (120+) sat further back in the far side group after seeking cover from stall one, meaning he had significantly more ground to make up on the winner, as Campanelle, who led his group, was slower through the opening three furlongs.

Challenging

William Buick made his move into a challenging position passing the two-furlong marker and took the measure of his rivals on the far side in posting a closing sectional of 35.01secs.

Australian raider Artorius (119+) flashed home from an unpromising position to clock a slightly faster closing effort, stopping the clock at 34.99secs.

Ironically the pace held up well with Campanelle (119) and Highfield Princess (116), who also raced prominently, recording 35.80secs and 35.88sces respectively for their closing sectional.

The closers to catch the eye were Sacred (115+) and Happy Romance (113+) with the William Haggas-trained filly the quickest through the closing stages, stopping the clock at 35.17secs compared to the 35.49secs taken by Richard Hannon’s daughter of Dandy Man.

The findings on the clock suggest Naval Crown will struggle to confirm form with his stablemate. They are both likely to head to the July Cup next when this theory will be tested.

Rohaan produces faster late sectionals than earlier Group 1 runners

ROHAAN (115+) returned to form with a vengeance to land back-to-back wins in the Wokingham Handicap, clocking a closing sectional which eclipsed the best of the finishing efforts in the previous Group 1.

Ryan Moore exerted nothing more than hands and heels from the saddle as the son of Mayson clocked 34.78secs for his final three furlongs. Another foray into pattern company beckons for Dave Evans’s gelding, and if repeating this finish effort, he will be competitive. Although a note of caution, it was a bridge too far last season as missing the start became his Achilles heel.

The race was dominated by horses drawn high with the most notable performers Jumby (111), who has overcome issues of his own at the start, and Mr Wagyu (108) who looks a candidate for the Stewards Cup at Goodwood.

To complete the straight track races Holloway Boy (95+) (35.84secs) produced a smart finish off a slow pace to deny Pearling Path (92) what looked certain victory in the Chesham Stakes and Noble Truth (105) (36.10secs) made just about all the running to win a Jersey Stakes which although faster overall was slow through the closing.

Broome (120) produced a career best in the Hardwicke Stakes under an inspired ride from Ryan Moore who crowned a superb week in the saddle with another double.

Urged on

After staying wide early on, Moore crossed to head the front-running Solid Stone and the partnership never looked back. Asked to seal the race at the three-furlong marker, the six-year-old found plenty for his rider’s urgings to win by three and a half lengths and post a closing sectional of 37.22secs.

Mostahdaf (116) looked a non-stayer which the clock confirmed as the son of Frankel dropped to a 13.02secs final furlong having covered the previous furlong in 12.11secs, a figure which was faster than the winner.

Hurricane Lane (114+) will no doubt strip fitter for the run and a rematch with the victor in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes may yield a different outcome.

The final word this week goes to Missed The Cut (115+) who handed George Boughey a second victory of the week in the Golden Gate Stakes.

James McDonald made it three wins for the meeting aboard the three-year-old who made a mockery of his opening handicap mark with a performance of a horse destined for pattern races.

The son of Quality Road recorded a time figure in close enough proximity to Broome when adjusted for distance to make his closing sectional of 37.02secs one of substance.