Graeme North timefigure analysis from the Irish Champions Festival and St Leger Meeting

If the Saturday that sees Newmarket stage the July Cup, Superlative and Bunbury Cup – as well as other meetings the same day that host the John Smiths Cup (York), City Plate (Chester) and Summer Mile (Ascot) – has come to be known as ‘Super Saturday’ then what is the rightful adjective for the Saturday that’s just gone?

Scintillating? Superb? Sparkling? Whatever you settle on, the St Leger, Park Stakes, Portland, Champagne, Irish Champion, Matron, Champions Juvenile and Solonaway as well as three other Group or Listed races I’ve not even mentioned all on the same afternoon blows so-called ‘Super Saturday’ out of the water and with so much to cover (Sunday’s French action will be analysed in North On Sunday next Sunday) I’ll crack straight on.

Doncaster’s St Leger meeting kicked off on Thursday with an eight-race card that featured two Betfred-sponsored Group Two contests for fillies, the May Hill and the Park Hill.

The field for the former looked something of a substandard renewal in all honesty and it went readily to the form pick Desert Flower in a 95 timefigure (98 after sectional upgrades are incorporated) who beat Aidan O’Brien’s challenger January by a length-and-a-half. Unsurprisingly on the back of this win, Desert Flower is favourite for the Fillies’ Mile next month and is currently no bigger than 10/1 for next year’s 1000 Guineas, but she has achieved quite a bit less than all of Godolphin’s four May Hill winners between 2010 and 2013 at the same stage (three of whom went on to win the Fillies’ Mile) so whether she’s another Laurens or Inspiral, two good recent winners of the May Hill, remains to be seen.

The Park Hill Stakes, or the ‘fillies St leger’ as it is often called, also attracted an underwhelming line-up. 2023 winner Sumo Sam clearly isn’t the force of old and with only one of her rivals having achieved a Timeform pre-race rating higher than 110 it was hardly a shock the race went to an improver with Nakheel who’d been held three times previously in Listed company finding the combination of cheekpieces and the longer trip right up her street.

Much like the May Hill, however, a 93 timefigure is a tad disappointing not least given it attracted no upgrade. Hallasan recorded a 94 timefigure when edging out Camille Pissarro in the valuable Sales race but the best comparative figure was returned by Yaroogh in one of the three (!) nurseries on the day, taking full advantage of a drop in class from the Acomb last time to score in 95 (96 after upgrades).

There might have been two Group races on Doncaster’s Friday card, but it seemed there was more anticipation surrounding the second appearance of Juddmonte’s Jonquil who overcame a troubled passage at Sandown on his debut and had been touted as another potential start for his soon to be retired trainer Sir Micheal Stoute.

He failed to read the script in the Listed Flying Scotsman, however, getting worked up when saddled and then unable to get involved against much better rivals over a sharper seven that he had encountered at Sandown. Any progress he might make will surely come at a mile or beyond, comments which also apply to the winner Benevento who stayed on strongly to get the better of the Coventry sixth Symbol Of Strength by half-a-length in a smart 103 timefigure (no upgrade).

By contrast, the pattern events, the Flying Childers and the Doncaster Cup, were won by Aesterius and Sweet William respectively in modest timefigures of just 90 (no upgrade) and 88 (1lb upgrade).

Aesterius rallied gamely to get the better of the Gimcrack fourth Big Mojo who as expected appreciated the return to five furlongs, while Sweet William had too much speed for his rivals at the end of a steadily-run race and could have won by four of five lengths had his rider so desired.

Consolation for Juddmonte for the modest showing from Jonquil came in the rescheduled Dick Poole Stakes at Salisbury where their once-raced Tabiti who’d won a maiden at Newmarket in August, overcame the drop from seven furlongs to six to score with a bit to spare in a 96 timefigure (no upgrade).

Saturday’s St Leger card started off with the Champagne Stakes which has been won by Chaldean., Too Darn Hot and Chindit among others in recent years. With the favourite Chancellor withdrawn after breaking out of his stalls, neither of the Aidan O’Brien duo seemingly held in much regard and the Vintage runner-up Wolf of Badenoch well held, exactly what Bay City Roller had to achieve to maintain his unbeaten record isn’t clear. The clock suggests it wasn’t as much as the aforementioned trio, however, and sectional upgrades only elevate his overall timerating to 100.

More to come from Portland hero

American Affair overcame a seemingly impossible position after meeting trouble in running to get up on the line in a career-best 102 timefigure in the Portland and is surely on his way to becoming a Group class sprinter, while Kinross wasn’t ridden as far back as he had been in the Lennox and with no horse of Audience’s calibre in opposition this time ran out a ready winner of the Park Stakes in a race in which they went just a modest gallop (overall timerating 99).

The main event itself, and the final Classic of the season, had had a strangely subdued build-up beforehand but at least provided the closest finish since 2020 when Galileo Chrome also got the better of the Berkshire Rocco by a neck with Jan Brueghel edging out his stable-companion Illinois by the same margin in a credible 114 timefigure.

Back in the field in 2020 were a couple of horses, Pyledriver and Hukum, that went on to win the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes but whether there is anything of their potential in the beaten horses here seems unlikely for all Deira Mile made up a lot of ground from well off the pace. If there’s one horse capable of winning a leading Group One it’s almost certainly the winner himself who looked a bit more streetwise than he had at Goodwood and was once again doing his best work at the finish as he exhibited bags of stamina.

What timefigure fireworks there were over the weekend came in Ireland with Saturday’s feature event, the Irish Champion Stakes, going to Economics in a 122 timefigure (upgraded to 125 after sectionals are included) from the 2023 winner Auguste Rodin (124 overall, same as in 2023) and the Japanese challenger Shin Emperor (123 overall).

Economics had looked a smart prospect when winning the Dante at York in May by six lengths (overall timerating then 118) and the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano at Deauville where he came from much further back than the runner-up Jayarebe on a day unfortunately on which there was no tracking data available, but on the book he still looked to have it to do with Auguste Rodin or, more accurately, an on-song Auguste Rodin.

All the faith that saw him sent off favourite in spite of a strong representation from Ballydoyle was justified, however, as he knuckled down well from off a strong pace set by Auguste Rodin’s stable-companion Luxembourg, though quite what would have transpired had Shin Emperor, who was third in the Japanese Derby and has the Arc as his target, got anything like a clear run is open to argument.

According to the Japanese tracking data, Shin Emperor ran the second fastest last three furlongs in the Japanese Derby from a poor position and Race IQ have him running the fastest last furlong at Leopardstown. It’s hard to know how wound up he was here (not fully according to some post-race reports) but he’s certainly got the pedigree for the Arc being a full brother to the previous winner Sottsass.

The other Group One contest at Leopardstown, the Matron Stakes, was a slowly-run affair with the winning time (which resulted in a timefigure of just 68) being the slowest of the four races on the day run over a mile, which included a fillies handicap.

The finishing order was the right one, however, at least at the front end with form pick Porta Fortuna getting the better of her closest rival Fallen Angel for all the form further back in the field looks dubious. Green Impact landed the Champions Juvenile Stakes, a race won by Diego Velazguez and Auguste Rodin in the last two seasons, in a smart 103 timefigure, while Diego Velazguez took the Solonaway Stakes (in which one-time sectional poster horse Maljoom once again blew the start) in a 97 timefigure and Trustyourinstincts took what used to be known as the Kilternan Stakes in a lowly 72.

Was Believing unlucky again?

Pride of place among the winners from a timefigure perspective at the Curragh on Sunday went to Nunthorpe winner Bradsell who once again got the better of the horse who followed him home at York, Believing, on this occasion by a length-and-a-quarter in a career-best 122 timefigure.

However, connections of the runner-up can feel a bit hard done by again I suspect. As she had been at York, Believing was drawn on the other side of the track from Bradsell and by the time the field had reached halfway the group she was chasing was well behind the one Bradsell was leading. Using the detailed sectionals published by RaceIQ that disadvantage came in at 5lb by my calculations which if applied to the race result makes her, for me anyway, the moral winner for the second race in succession.

Rather disappointingly, only one of the other four Group races on the card, three of which were Group Ones, managed to make it into three figures and that was the Moyglare Stud Stakes.

Bedtime Story, who’d run a 110 timefigure at Royal Ascot, set a very tall standard on that form for all she’d been no more than workmanlike in two wins since, but she wasn’t right, reportedly finishing lame, and in her ‘absence’ the race went to her stable-companion Lake Victoria who’d previously won the Sweet Solera but advanced her form 10lb or so here with a defeat of the Prix du Calvados winner Simmering, scoring in a 102 timefigure raised to 103 overall.

The National Stakes over the same trip also saw another Aidan O’Brien odds-on shot overturned in the form of Henri Matisse, only it wasn’t one of his stable-companions that took advantage this time but Scorthy Champ who’d finished two lengths behind him last time when slowly away but knuckled down much the better on this occasion at the end of a steadily-run race (timefigure just 82) with Henri Matisse inclined to wander badly and throwing the race away after being slowly away himself.

Kyprios needed only to run to a 99 timefigure to see off Vauban readily in the Irish St Leger while Hanalia took the Blandford in an even more modest 86 so reversing Irish Oaks form with both Purple Lily and Caught U looking who’d finished ahead of her that day in a more strongly-run affair over further.

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