Sectional Debrief: July Festival day two

Friday's sectional figures make for an interesting compare and contrast with those from the first day of the Newmarket July Meeting, on Thursday, with the ground probably only fractionally quicker 24 hours on. There were three strongly-run or truly-run races - indicated by finishing speeds in the 98% to 102% range - on Friday, as opposed to two on Thursday, plus one contest that stands out as having been extremely slowly-run.

That race was, of course, the featured Etihad Airways Falmouth Stakes, in which Elusive Kate dictated the pace and held on narrowly (and controversially) from Sky Lantern despite carrying her rival left in the closing stages. This is not a race about which to make hard-and-fast conclusions, though the last 2f sectionals point to the runner-up winning narrowly in a rematch, with third-placed Giofra finishing a bit closer into the bargain.

Sky Lantern's 22.15s for the last 2f is one of the fastest recorded electronically at any distance at the Newmarket July Course, which has an uphill finish, and it shows that she is capable of running well in a slowly-run as well as a strongly-run race, the latter having been the circumstances which saw her shine at Royal Ascot. 

Some of the overall times on Friday were disappointing for less obvious reasons, but exceptions were the 6f handicap won by Heavens Guest, the 7f maiden won by True Story and the 6f Duchess of Cambridge Stakes (sponsored by Betfred), or the Cherry Hinton as it used to be. 

The last-named makes for an interesting comparison with the July Stakes on day one. It was run in a time 0.45s faster but with the principals finishing slower. The fillies' event was a truer test, and Lucky Kristale was not inconvenienced by coming from off the pace. That said, it would be wrong to imagine she was flattered, for her closing sectional stacks up well even after that has been taken into account and marks her down as a smart juvenile. This may not be widely appreciated, and she is added to the "to follow" list. 

It is easier to run slowly than quickly, and it is a fact the majority of races are run at a pace below what could be expected to achieve the best possible overall time. Both Heavens Guest and True Story ran slightly quicker than par late on - a reflection that neither of their races was run at a flat-out pace - and deserve marking up a bit. In the former's race, third-placed Rene Mathis (who had been up with the pace) ran closest to par of the principals.