Watch And Learn: Graeme North timefigure analysis

Those racing fans frustrated by the dominance on big days of Aidan O’Brien on the Flat and Willie Mullins over jumps will have been cheered by the results at the Curragh on Saturday when not only were all nine races won by different stables. but O’Brien didn’t win the big one, the Juddmonte Irish Oaks as we have come to expect, and nor did he win any of the eight supporting races either, so drawing a blank on the afternoon for the first time since 2020.

One second place and one third place on the undercard was his worst return on the day he had saddled ten winners at in the preceding four seasons since 2012, when three third places were the best his representatives could manage.

O’Brien also drew a blank on Sunday’s lesser card, suffering an unexpected reverse in one of the maidens when his 1/3 shot Ibelieveicanfly finished only fourth, but given events this season the name O’Brien did appear unsurprisingly among the list of winning trainers on both days with his son Joseph winning four races in total, including the Juddmonte Irish Oaks with Johanna Walsh who’d finished second in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot, and the Curragh Cup with Trustyourinstinct who twice hadn’t been a match for Purview earlier this season, but made his first start beyond a mile-and-a-half a winning one.

Johanna Walsh’s win proved something of a fillip for the form of the Ribblesdale whose merit plenty (including myself) questioned at the time after form standout Legacy Link found the race coming too soon after her gallant effort behind Thundering On (who was withdrawn in the Irish Oaks apparently because she was off her feed) in the Betfred Oaks.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer as the old saying goes, and I’m still not convinced the Ribblesdale was up to scratch overall with its latter stages being run in a much slower time than the King George V Handicap on the same afternoon, and for sure Ribblesdale winner Earth Shot couldn’t replicate her Ascot effort here trailing in sixth of the ten runners.

That said, Johanna Walsh was clearly much improved from the Ribblesdale and undoubtedly the best filly on the afternoon as you would expect from a four-length winning margin with the filly who chased her home, Inis Mor, third to Diamond Necklace in the French Oaks the time before but beaten nearly twice as far here, giving the form a solid look.

A 108 timefigure is the fifth highest in the race since Timeform started returning Flat timefigures in Ireland but to that can be added a 6lb upgrade across the last three furlongs so taking her overall time rating to 114, just 1lb lower than the 115 Snowfall posted back in 2021 when winning by eight-and-a-half lengths.

Four runs this season have seen her Timeform ratings increase from 77 to 91 to 111 and now 117 and who’s to say she won’t end the season rated as highly as her stablemate Thundering On who is currently 124p.

Behind her, third-placed Sparan Mua might well have finished second with a clear run, while Joseph O’Brien also has another potentially smart filly to look forward to for the rest of the season in fourth-placed Rebel Moon who briefly looked the biggest danger to her stablemate but lost two places late on as she couldn’t sustain a bold move out wide on what was just her third run.

Cheshire Oaks winner Amelia Earhart did best of Aidan O’Brien’s five runners but fifth place and beaten over eight lengths rather illustrates the lack of top-class middle-distance female talent at Ballydoyle this year.

British raiders shine in the sprints

Irish Oaks Day is always one at which visiting trainers do well and for the third time in the last four years they combined to saddle two winners with Simon and Ed Crisfords’ Cover Up winning the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes and Michael and David Easterby’s Sondad landing the prestigious Rockingham Handicap.

British trainers saddled the first four home in the Sapphire with Cover Up landing his most significant win yet (he had landed a Group 2 in Meydan earlier this year that wasn’t particularly well contested) with his best effort to boot, one in which he stopped the clock in a clear career-best of 115 ahead of David Loughnane’s Partisan Hero, who came into the contest on the back of third place in the Coral Charge and bettered even that effort with a 113 timefigure.

British trainers also had the first two in the Rockingham with Sondad and Dark Thirty finishing three lengths clear. Sondad, who was first home in his group when badly drawn in the Wokingham, posted 105 on the clock while Dark Thirty, who’d beaten Wokingham sixth Binhareer in a valuable handicap at York in May before winning at Chester, posted 102, both career bests.

Saturday’s other Group races, the Railway Stakes and the Meadow Court Stakes, went to Celeron and Moody respectively in timefigures of 92 and 90 respectively.

The Railway Stakes has been won in the last two seasons by subsequent Classic winners True Love and Henri Matisse, but Celeron is a long way off that level yet, though clearly didn’t do himself justice at Ascot drawn on the wrong side just two weeks on from his promising debut and seven furlongs will probably suit him better than the six he has been campaigned over so far.

Moody made all in the Sapphire but time might show she was flattered by this three-and-a-half length unchallenged win in a contest most of the form fancies (notably her stablemate One Look) ran below form.

Power Blue looks ideal type for Deauville feature

The first of the two Group races on Sunday’s card went to Amo Racing whose Power Blue made the most of a drop in trip as well as class in the Minstrel Stakes, getting the better of course specialist Big Gossey by a length-and-a-half in a 107 timefigure which is marginally better than he produced in the Phoenix Stakes last season and the Irish 2,000 Guineas this year.

He handles fast ground well and would be the sort that would go well in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville whose run of four consecutive Sunday summer meetings I’ll be covering soon in my occasional North On Sunday French preview column.

As mentioned earlier, Trustyourinstinct won the Curragh Cup, beating the rank outsider Happy Pharoah and his own stable-mate Al Riffa who had won the race last year but looked unsuited by the steadier tempo back in trip after his good effort in the Gold Cup.

Trustyourinstinct has been around a while and won over as short as nine-and-a-half furlongs earlier this year and it was speed what allowed him to overcome being stuck at the rear with nowhere to go two furlongs out and show a nice turn of foot to get up close home with his 87 timefigure indicative of the steady pace at which the race was run.

Mention of his predicament early in the straight as well as Deauville brings me to another horse who has been something of a ‘talking horse’ this season yet goes down at Chantilly on Sunday as one of the unluckiest losers I have seen for a long time.

That horse is Erdenali who lost his unbeaten record when third in the Prix Messidor on his first venture into Group company. The winner of a newcomers event at Saint-Cloud, a minor event at Longchamp and a listed race at Deauville, Erdenali should also have won this race, and quite easily, too, but he turned into the straight trapped on the inside and could never get out, having to sit and suffer the whole way until a gap appeared very close to the line which allowed him to grab third.

Had he been pulled out wide as Trustyourinstinct was, and who Cankoura who Barzalona had also ridden earlier in the afternoon at Chantilly also was, Erdenali would have won by several lengths. Being a gelding rather limits his Group 1 options but he’s up to that level without a doubt. Calandagan backers will be hoping their mount doesn’t suffer the same fate in Ascot’s even shorter straight.

Newbury brings the best out in Symbol Of Honour

Back home, the only Group race of the week, the Hackwood Stakes fittingly produced the best domestic timefigure of the week, 111.

Its winner Symbol Of Honour had a previous best of 106, achieved when eighth in the July Cup last season, but he’d run to this sort of performance level when winning a listed race on his only previous visit at Newbury in 2025, something worth bearing in mid should he turn up at the course again.

Pick of the efforts on time in the four listed races run in Britain last week were the 107 posted by Persica in the Steventon Stakes and 96 by Arapaho Gold in the Rose Bowl.

Persica was entitled to win as he did, but Arapaho Gold showed further improvement to retain his unbeaten record after two wins at Thirsk and is clearly a talented youngster for trainer Michael Dods who is no stranger to training good sprinters.

Runner-up Nabati emerged with a 2lb better upgrade, so giving him an overall time rating 1lb higher than the winner, and he is probably the better short-term prospect having learned little after winning a weak four-runner race at Yarmouth earlier this month with a ton in hand. The Super Sprint produced a close finish but the winning time was ordinary and it looked a weaker renewal than usual.

More Watch And Learn columns

• Angel one to take from July Festival
• River yet to record outstanding timefigure
• Irish Derby 1-2-3 produce career bests
• Baccio looks player in Nunthorpe
• Christmas Day rightful winner of Derby
• Talk Of New York earns Palace date
• Gstaad can get closer to Bow Echo next time
• Dante Festival fallout
• River impresses on the clock at Chester
• Bow above average in 2000 Guineas
• Lots to like about Raaheeb
• I'm The One doesn't impress on the clock

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.