Asadna produced an exceptional performance on the clock in the six-furlong novice at Ripon on Sunday, earning a higher timefigure than any two-year-old debutant starting out before Royal Ascot in the last decade.
Asadna, a 160,000 guineas purchase from the breeze-up sales, streaked 12 lengths clear on his debut for George Boughey, registering a time nearly a second faster than Pinafore - a progressive and fairly useful handicapper - managed over the same course and distance later on the card.
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The performance earned Asadna a timefigure of 109, which is an outstanding achievement for a juvenile of any experience before Royal Ascot. A timefigure represents the time value of a single performance, whereas a Timeform form rating - which is on the same scale - is an assessment of the merit of a horse's form.
In the last decade, Caravaggio, who went on to win the Coventry Stakes, is the only two-year-old to have clocked a higher timefigure prior to Royal Ascot. He achieved a timefigure of 115 when winning at the Curragh on his second start.
β±οΈ Asadna recorded a ππ¬π΅ π§πΆπΊπ²π³πΆπ΄ππΏπ² when making a winning debut at Ripon on Sunday.
β Timeform (@Timeform) May 22, 2023
π Only one 2-y-o has clocked a higher figure prior to Royal Ascot since 2010... pic.twitter.com/Qlpc6heXGf
It's also a higher timefigure than the last five winners of the Coventry Stakes produced in the race itself.
Reflecting on the performance, Timeform's two-year-old handicapper Simon Baker said: "Timefigures are maybe the most powerful tool there is when it comes to rating early-season juvenile form and the one Asadna posted at Ripon is among the best we have on record for a two-year-old debutant.
"Indeed, itβs a better timefigure than most Coventry winners produce in the race itself and, while I think itβs important to qualify our praise by acknowledging that the opposition at Ripon were a modest bunch who were plodding home in his wake, Asadna will surely head to Royal Ascot with an outstanding chance."
Asadna has a Timeform form rating of 109p which is the highest achieved by a juvenile so far this season. River Tiber, who maintained the unbeaten start to his career at Naas on Sunday, is the second highest with a rating of 104p. The pair look set for a fascinating clash in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot next month.
Asadna is not the first juvenile to have clocked a big timefigure on debut at Ripon in recent years as Spartan Fighter and A'Ali both achieved figures in excess of 100 when fighting out the finish to a five-furlong novice in 2019. A'Ali won the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot on his next outing.
The last two winners of the six-furlong novice that Asadna won - Ever Given and Shouldvebeenaring - both went on to win the valuable sales race at the Ebor meeting.
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