Handicappers' Corner: Nice one Mayson

The July Festival at Newmarket rarely conjures the kind of images that have been so prevalent there over the three days this week, plenty of strung out fields on testing ground, and as a consequence, a number of results to treat with caution.

The July Cup proved a disappointing renewal, ante-post favourite Bated Breath just one that was missing on account of the ground and it was unorthodox in event too, Mayson coming home unchallenged, seeming to be the only runner to relish the testing conditions.

With the field well strung out and few of his rivals giving their running, arriving at a figure for Mayson wasn't straightforward. Both historical standards and prior-ratings standards point to a figure in the mid-130's for Mayson. Rated just 119 going into the July Cup, it's hard to believe he improved as much as that, and with a timefigure in the low-120's, he's been rated 125.

It seems strange race planning that whilst there was a 6f Group 1 on heavy being held at Newmarket, there was a 6f Group 3 the same afternoon at Newbury. Given the performance Diamond-Jubilee fourth, Soul, put up in winning the Hackwood Stakes, he was certainly worthy of his place in the July Cup.

In beating Firebeam by 4 lengths, Soul earned a rating of 124, high enough to think he'd have made more of a race of it with Mayson than any of the beaten horses in the July Cup managed. Both the Hackwood and July Cup remind of the dangers of using yardsticks to rate races around, none of the beaten rivals in either race adjudged to have run to their rating in Timeform's opinion.

The other Group 1 contest at the July Festival, the Falmouth, was more straightforward even if it was run at a stop-start pace. The first three finished clear with Giofra having half a length to spare over Elusive Kate. Rated 119 going into the race, Giofra has been credited with a performance rating of 118, with the reappearing Elusive Kate improving from 112 to 115. Giofra's winning rating is very much in line with the standards.

The best of the other action at the July Festival came in the Princess Of Wales's Stakes and Fiorente belatedly confirmed the promise he'd shaped with a couple of times as a 3-y-o. The race was run at a strong pace, and subsequent events showed he was at no disadvantage where he raced, but a new master rating of 123 confirms Fiorente as the best horse in the race, even if it leaves him with something to find at Group 1 level.

The July Festival is a much about emerging 2-y-o talent as it is established older horses, and there were a number of runs worthy of a mention. Alhebayeb increased his rating to 106p for winning the July Stakes, whilst Olympic Glory didn't have to match his Coventry form (113) to win the Superlative Stakes, needing only a performance figure of 104 to hold off Birdman.

The Cherry Hinton went to form pick Sendmylovetorose (105) who didn't quite have to run to her best to prevail, but she was very fortunate to hold on from Maureen, who was denied a clear run, and she's been rated as the winner at 106p.

There were also some interesting maiden winners in the last week that will almost certainly be stepping into pattern company sooner rather than later. The first of those was Certify who won the Three Chimneys fillies' maiden in a slightly quicker time than the July Stakes. Race standards give a range of 89-95 for her effort, but with the clock suggesting higher, she has been allotted a Timeform rating of 101p.

Ghurair also created a most positive impression when making a winning debut in a 7f maiden that usually throws up lots of winners. Backed up by the timefigure, his rating of 94P marks him down as an exciting prospect. Similar comments apply to Montiridge who won a similar race in impressive fashion at Newbury to earn a rating of 101p.

Over in France, the Grand Prix de Paris took centre stage on Bastille Day, Imperial Monarch and Main Sequence the Irish and British interest in a field of nine. Running here as opposed to taking on Camelot in the Irish Derby, Imperial Monarch gained compensation for his luckless run in the Prix du Jockey Club, making the running and just holding on in a bunched finish despite coming off a true line and having to survive a lengthy stewards enquiry. Rated 119p coming into the race, Imperial Monarch's master rating is unchanged, as is that of Main Sequence on 121 who met trouble and was unlucky not to finish closer than fourth.

Last but not least, Luca Cumani hasn't had much luck in the Melbourne Cup, twice saddling the runner-up, and he looks to have a live chance of going one better with Mount Athos. He's won both starts since transferring to his current trainer and put up one of the handicapping performances of the year to defy top weight at York on Saturday. A new master rating of 121 suggests he can make a big impact on the Cup scene, but connections will surely want to preserve his handicap mark before then.