From a very smart winner of the Lincoln to a trio of promising three-year-olds, Adam Houghton picks out four notable performances from the weekend’s racing on Timeform ratings.
Migration (120 from 115)
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Trained by David Menuisier, Migration had long threatened to win a big handicap, but few expected Saturday to be his day as he returned an SP of 18/1 for a strong-looking edition of the Lincoln at Doncaster, the scale of his challenge summed up by the fact he was having to concede at least 5 lb to each of his 21 rivals.
In the event, however, the seven-year-old Migration found more improvement from somewhere to defy top weight on his first start since October, hitting a level rarely seen in handicaps as he won going away by a length and a quarter from Awaal (remains on 117p) under a well-judged ride from Benoit de la Sayette.
The runner-up arrived on Town Moor on a steep upward curve and to beat him in the fashion that he did suggests Migration was full value for a very smart performance, the best we've seen in this prestigious handicap since the turn of the century.
Admittedly, Migration has disappointed in both his previous starts at Listed level, but he clearly possesses the ability to make an impact in that type of race, with handicaps surely now out of the equation following another rise in the weights.
Never Ending Story (108 from 103)
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Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsAidan O'Brien said in a recent stable tour that Never Ending Story had always worked the best of his two-year-old fillies last season – no mean feat in a group that also included the Royal Ascot and Breeders' Cup winner Meditate – and the manner of her victory in Sunday's 1000 Guineas Trial Stakes at Leopardstown suggests she could well take high rank against her own sex this term.
Last seen finishing a good third in the Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp in October, Never Ending Story picked up where she left off there with another improved showing at Leopardstown, looking well on top at the finish as she stayed on strongly from mid-division to land the spoils by two and a half lengths.
The likes of Jet Setting (winner in 2016), Winter (runner-up in 2017) and Homeless Songs (winner in 2022) have used this race as a springboard to classic success in recent years and Never Ending Story has certainly earned herself a tilt at something like the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket or the Irish equivalent at the Curragh.
In pure form terms, Never Ending Story still has plenty to find with the likes of Tahiyra (116P) and stablemate Meditate (114), the two fillies who dominate the ante-post betting for the Newmarket contest, but it's not out of the question that she may yet have more to offer after just seven starts. She'll stay further than a mile when the time comes, too.
White Birch (108p from 97p)
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Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsO'Brien also won the 2000 Guineas Trial Stakes with Hans Andersen (106 from 103) – who barely needed to improve on his useful two-year-old form to gain a first pattern-race win – but he was on the receiving end of an upset in the Ballysax Stakes where White Birch came out on top as the 22/1 outsider of the field for John Murphy.
There didn't appear to be any fluke about the performance of White Birch, though. Impressive when getting off the mark at the second attempt at Dundalk in November, he found another chunk of progress to follow up in this Group Three after four months off, the step up to a mile and a quarter clearly suiting him well as he finished best of all from rear to win by half a length.
It's worth pointing out that runner-up Up And Under (107p from 74P) probably should have won, with the inexperience he showed late on (hung left in the final furlong) perhaps proving the difference between victory and defeat. Either way, the first two both showed borderline smart form in pulling four lengths clear of O'Brien's Alexandroupolis (99p from 96p), who could manage only third having been sent off the 4/5 favourite.
That trio are all likely to progress further – they came into this race having had just four previous starts between them – and a rematch could be on the cards in the Derby Trial Stakes over this course and distance in May. That should tell us more with regards their classic prospects heading into the summer.
Pensee du Jour (110p from 103p)
Camelot might have been out of luck in the Ballysax as his son Alexandroupolis fluffed his lines, but the team at Coolmore had cause to celebrate at Saint-Cloud the previous afternoon as his daughter Pensee du Jour ran out an impressive winner of the Prix Penelope.
That Group Three featured a strong representation from Britain and Ireland, including two runners from Ballydoyle, but the race itself was all about one horse as Pensee du Jour made every yard of the running to maintain her unbeaten record, ultimately winning by two and a half lengths having opened up a clear lead without really being asked a question entering the final two furlongs.
The Group One Prix Saint-Alary is reportedly her next target – a race her trainer Andre Fabré has won eight times but not since 2011 – and then all roads will surely lead to the Prix de Diane at Chantilly.
With a Timeform rating of 110p, Pensee du Jour has already shown form good enough to be competitive in a typical renewal of that classic and the small 'p' attached to her rating denotes that she remains with potential. She is certainly in the right hands and looks destined for bigger and better things.
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