The all-weather racing at Kempton this week took place on a standard polytrack surface, but with that surface being slightly quicker (in the region of 7 lb) on the Wednesday than the Thursday.
There were few individual performances of genuine interest on Wednesday, but sectionals do help us to interpret the run of the races in a way that more conventional means of analysis might get wrong. For instance, the late-closing efforts in the opener of third and fourth, Loraine and How Fortunate, caught the eye but should be viewed in the context of a race in which the leaders went plenty fast enough. The winner and second, Bobs Her Uncle and Mr Lando, came back fractionally slower than their average race speed and were not obviously flattered. Indeed, the overall time was a good one for the grade (sectional ratings have been pitched at a slightly higher level than the timefigures on this card).
Triple Chocolate's second-last-to-first debut win might have given the impression that he kept on while others stopped, but that was not the case, as he ran the last 3f in only just over 35 seconds and can be considered best in the (admittedly ordinary) race by as much as 3 lengths more. Similar, if slightly less positive, comments apply to Leonard Thomas, who came from last to first in the second division of that maiden.
The first three at the sectional in the 11f handicap occupied the last three places by the line. Did they go too fast? No, they did not. Jazz Master came home in a sprightly 35.25s and second-placed Noble Protector was a shade faster still: the pair can be rated alongside each other and a bit further ahead of their rivals than the bare result implies.
Perhaps most puzzling of all is how Asia Minor managed to come from a long way back to win by 6 lengths unless there was a pace collapse. There was not, or at least not judged by the final 3f in its entirety, and runner-up Men Don't Cry can be considered to have been flattered in getting clear on the home turn. The winner deserves plenty of respect again next time, but this was a messy race, the circumstances of which may not be repeated.
One race stands out from a sectional point of view on Thursday, and that is the 7f nursery. Less than 2 lengths covered the first four home, but sectionals suggest strongly that the first two, Killing Time and Spiritual Flame, are a good deal better than their close-up rivals. The pair came from second-last and last at the sectional and both ran the last 3f in around 34.35s. They were quickening past accelerating rivals, in other words, and get big sectional mark-ups. With the overall time respectable in the circumstances, these look two youngsters to follow.
Another sectional performance of merit came in the last, in which Squirrel Wood passed all but one of her rivals in the straight and can be rated the narrow winner, for all that the overall time is nothing to write home about.
Regular readers of this blog will be aware that Charles Molson was identified as a sectional "to follow" horse after his second at Kempton in September. He won easily at Bath recently but would not usually be retained as that track is outside the scope of this feature. However, an exception can be made in this instance: the time at Bath was good and the gelding looks every inch a useful sprinter in the making. He will need to be to win in much stronger company at Newmarket today (Friday).
To Follow: Charles Molson, Squirrel Wood, Killing Time, Spiritual Flame
To Oppose: Men Don't Cry
