Leopardstown announced last week that they had their course remeasured to facilitate Course Track sectional times at future meetings, a move that will also lead to some amended stall positions.

It is a positive if belated step though it should be noted that the initial split times from the meeting on Thursday, June 8th did not always tally with those from Timeform who have been publishing such information at both Leopardstown and the Curragh for a while now and that will need to be monitored.

Data like this is only useful when it is accurate and punters and such need to be able to trust it, so for the moment I am going to stick with Timeform sectionals which is certainly enough to offer a big picture view of what unfolded on that card.

Of the 10 fastest final three-furlong times at the meeting, eight of them came in two races, the opening juvenile maiden won by Buttons and the King George V Cup won by Tower Of London, indicative of how steady the gallops were in both races more than anything.

Content was a close-up third in the maiden, the second string for Ballydoyle might prove the best long-term prospect from the race. She came from further back than the two that beat her and her final three furlong split was the best on the entire card. While the pace was slow, the first three put a lot of ground between themselves and the rest in the final furlong.

Content didn’t get a hard time and had to wait for her run too and is typically well-bred, out of Nunthorpe winner Mecca’s Angel.

Whatever about sectional times, a low draw, a position close to the rail and forward tactics seemed important if not vital throughout this card.

Of the four big fields on the evening, each of which had at least 13 runners, only one horse made the first four from a stall higher than seven and it was notable how few runners were able to make any ground up towards the middle of the track.

Fastman was the one exception, who finished third from stall 18 in the mile handicap, but I am at least as interested in the efforts of Howyoulikethat and Tronador.

Howyoulikethat was drawn six in the nine-furlong handicap but was typically dropped out and did well to finish fourth behind Coeur D’or, running on well up the centre of the track with nothing to help bring him into the race.

The winner will hold claims in the Nasrullah Handicap over the same course and distance next month, but he is up 12lbs for this win whereas Howyoulikethat has been dropped in the weights and is building a decent record at the track, where his form figures read 013.

Tronador had a notably wide trip in the 1m5f handicap, especially off the final bend, before running on well up the middle of the track without getting a hard time under an inexperienced rider, and this was a good effort after a 162-day break over a trip short of his best.

IT seems likely that we saw a talented performer win the opening two-year-old maiden at Navan on Sunday in Pearls And Rubies. The five furlongs, even at a stiff track, looked on the sharp side for the No Nay Never filly out of Pretty Polly and Cheshire Oaks winner Diamondsandrubies.

She has three winning siblings, but none was successful over shorter than seven furlongs, and there was a lot to like about the performance on times, form and the eye test.

Her overall time was the best of the three five-furlong races on the card while she pulled clear with I Am Invictus who had run to a good level on his previous start.

Having dwelt at the stalls, she looked in trouble when rousted along at the two pole, the runner-up travelling better at that point, but she found plenty to lead close to home and showed a good attitude.

Aidan O’Brien was quick to nominate the Albany for her after the race. Even with that race being on the Friday of Royal Ascot, it will be a quick turnaround for the winner of 12 days.

In general, the juvenile races at Royal Ascot are won by runners coming off a long break; since 2015 (and leaving out 2020 due to the Covid-altered programme), 31 of the 36 winning two-year-olds at the meeting were returning from at least a fortnight off the track.

The win and place strike rates of those running back within 14 days were 3.5% and 11.9% respectively, versus 5.8% and 18.3% respectively for those off longer. However, this is Aidan O’Brien we are talking about so the rules may not apply.

Surprisingly, she was just his fifth juvenile filly to run this year, albeit four of them have won, versus the 24 male runners he has had.

One thing Pearls And Rubies did have in her favour last Sunday was her track position, a spot off the far rail looking a major plus throughout the card.

The third from her race, Asean trained by Joseph O’Brien, might be worth upgrading as she raced more far side and this run was more in line with what the market expected from her on debut when she was a show gamble at Cork.

Chris Hayes, in combo with instructions from Sarah Lynam, deserves praise for a virtuoso ride to negate his bad draw on Screen Siren in the later sprint handicap as he managed to switch from stall one to the near side to make his challenge while the winner of the 10f maiden for fillies, Endless Sunshine, is also worth mentioning.

The Harrington debutante was in trouble at the top of the hill but found plenty as the penny dropped late on, her rider putting down the whip in the closing stages. This occurred while racing more towards the middle of the track against experienced rivals who were stands’ side.

Rebel Rose was another victory for clever riding tactics in the handicap hurdle at Roscommon on Monday, with Mark McDonagh making a bold move to go down the inner when the rest of the field went around the outside like many of the other runners on the card.

The winner was well-backed through the day, sent off at 4/1 having been at least double that price earlier on, allowing that there were a couple of non-runners, and again showed how accurate the Mark Fahey runners can be in the market.

Since 2019, 20 of the 66 Fahey-trained runners that were sent off 5/1 or shorter have won with 39 of them placing in all for a level stakes profit of 17.4 points, and he is certainly a trainer to keep in mind when sending out a short one, allowing that it always requires a degree of finesse to figure out which ones may be fancied.