Tony McFadden provides an update on how the two-year-olds stack up on Timeform ratings following Royal Ascot.
Gstaad (111p)
Gstaad, a half-brother to Group 1-winning juvenile Vandeek, created a good impression when beating stablemate True Love - in a race which has proved a very strong piece of form - on debut at Navan last month, and he built on that to run out a decisive winner of the Coventry Stakes.
Gstaad travelled well in a handy position in the near-side group and kept on strongly to score by three lengths, registering the widest winning margin in the race since War Command - also trained by Aidan O'Brien - won by six lengths in 2013.
A Timeform performance rating of 111 marks Gstaad out as a good-quality winner of the Coventry Stakes, with the average Timeform performance rating of the previous ten winners sitting around 107. The last Coventry winner to register a Timeform performance rating in excess of 111 was Calyx in 2018.
Charles Darwin (110p)
Charles Darwin went into Royal Ascot as Timeform's highest-rated two-year-old on the back of an emphatic victory at Naas that was backed up by the clock, and he added to the impression that he's one of the best in the division with another decisive success in the Norfolk Stakes.
As had been the case at Naas, Charles Darwin faced a challenge a couple of furlongs out, but he again found plenty and finished well on top, ultimately winning by two and a quarter lengths and earning the highest Timeform performance rating in the race since Sioux Nation scored in 2017.
Another similarity with Naas is that Charles Darwin again impressed on the clock, so there's plenty of substance to go with his powerful style.
Albert Einstein (107p)
A setback meant that the highly regarded Albert Einstein didn't get the opportunity to showcase his talent at Royal Ascot last week, but he remains one of the highest-rated juveniles around having created a big impression on his first couple of starts.
Albert Einstein won a Naas maiden on debut and stepped up on that in the Group 3 Marble Hill Stakes at the Curragh, where he showed a good turn of foot to pick off a couple of useful rivals and win with more in hand than the margin of three-quarters of a length might suggest.
The second and third that day, Power Blue and Andab, went on to run creditably in the Coventry Stakes and finished fifth and fourth respectively. Given how readily Albert Einstein had picked them off at the Curragh, it's likely he would have made a bigger impact.
True Love (102p)
True Love was turned over at a short price in a Navan maiden after shaping so well when runner-up in a listed race at the Curragh on debut. However, her Navan effort looked a lot better when the winner, Gstaad, went on to land the Coventry Stakes on the first day of Royal Ascot.
After receiving such a significant form boost, True Love was well backed for the Queen Mary Stakes and sent off the 9/4 favourite. She justified that support with a length-and-a-quarter success, putting up just about the best performance by a two-year-old filly this season.
True Love is rated slightly lower than a typical winner of the Queen Mary in recent years – the average of the previous five winners is 104 – but she deserves credit for prevailing given how she raced away from most of the pace, and she remains capable of better when things develop more favourably.
Humidity (102p)
Humidity was able to emulate his brother Holloway Boy who won the Chesham in 2022. Unlike his older brother, who made a winning debut at Royal Ascot, Humidity had the benefit of a run under his belt, but he still took a big step forward on what he had shown when winning a Newbury maiden on debut for Andrew Balding.
Humidity earned the same performance rating of 102 as his brother at Royal Ascot. That doesn't mark him out as one of the better winners of the Chesham Stakes in recent years - Pinatubo clocked a performance rating of 113 in 2019 - but it is rated as just about the best performance by a British-trained juvenile at this year's meeting.
Maximized (102p)
Maximized didn't run at Royal Ascot but his form was handsomely advertised when Havana Hurricane (101p) won the Windsor Castle Stakes.
Havana Hurricane improved on the form he had shown when runner-up in the Woodcote Stakes, but the Windsor Castle win still reflects well on Maximized who scored by a length and a half at Epsom and had a bit in hand.
Maximized had also created a fine impression when making a winning start at Haydock, and he will be well worth his place in one of the top two-year-old races.
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