Ratings Update: Angel delight in Curragh Group 2

The first race to discuss is the listed Rose Bowl Stakes for two-year-olds at Newbury last Friday won by Mokarris. Mokarris got straight back on track four weeks on from poor effort in the Coventry Stakes (pulled too hard) as he proved in a different league to his seven rivals, hiking his Timeform master rating from 90p to 111p in the process. Mokarris will prove best kept to six furlongs at this stage given his exuberance and will merit the utmost respect in next month's Gimcrack Stakes at York.

Hamilton’s best card of the year took place the same evening and the feature listed Glasgow Stakes for three-year-olds went to Ventura Storm. Ventura Storm had looked out of place in pattern company in recent months, but he was already proven under testing conditions (the ground was heavy here) and resumed winning ways dropped back into listed company for the first time since winning the Feilden Stakes on his reappearance. He remains rated 105. On the same card, Orion’s’ Bow continued his amazing season by winning the Scottish Stewards’ Cup. Orion’s Bow completed the five-timer totally untroubled by any of his 13 rivals, always cruising and pulling easily clear of a competitive field, and he’s now rated 120 having begun the campaign rated just 81.

The Group 1 Irish Oaks at the Curragh in Ireland on Saturday was the feature race over the weekend in Europe and it went to an Aidan O’Brien-trained filly for the fifth time, though not with his first-choice runner according to both jockey bookings and the betting. With the odds-on Even Song bitterly disappointing for no obvious reason—she’s now rated 113 from 118p—it was Seventh Heaven who emerged victorious after running down the Oaks runner-up Architecture (remains rated 115), with the Oaks third Harlequeen (now 111 from 107) staying on to fill the same spot on this occasion. Seventh Heaven had finished only sixth in the Oaks herself, but the track and ground (soft) were legitimate excuses that day, and she duly resumed progress back in this more suitable environment. She’s now rated 118 (from 107+) will be a leading player in the Yorkshire Oaks if she runs there as is reportedly planned.

The Group 2 Sapphire Stakes and Group 3 Anglesey Stakes also took place earlier on the card. The 129-rated Mecca’s Angel got back right on track with a dominant success in the former race, having reportedly been in-season when disappointing in the King's Stand at Royal Ascot. Ground permitting, Mecca’s Angel looks set to make a bold bid to defend her crown at York next month. Peace Envoy went one better in the Anglesey than he had in the Railway Stakes to gain a first pattern-race win and he’s evidently still progressing bit-by-bit (now rated 109), though it’s more likely that this will prove the highlight of his season rather than a stepping stone to even better things.

Back in Britain, the listed Steventon Stakes at Newbury went to Scottish on just his second start for Godolphin. Scottish, rated 118, didn’t need to improve in a race he controlled and will reportedly be aimed at targets in Australia later in the year. The Group 3 Hackwood Stakes on the same card was won by The Tin Man who madethe most of a drop in grade after disappointing in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. The Tin Man was certainly value for a fair bit more than the winning margin and he’s clearly worth another try at Group 1 level, for all his Timeform master rating of 121 still leaves him with something to find against the likes of Limato (129), Twilight Son (127) and Magical Memory (126) among the older sprinters. Mrs Danvers didn't have to improve much, if at all, to maintain her unbeaten record in the very valuable Super Sprint. She’s now rated 95p.

The listed Aphrodite Stakes at Newmarket the same day was won by Forever Popular who coped with the step up from handicaps and resumed winning ways back down to a mile and a half in first-time cheekpieces. She won't be easy to place in the short term and will likely have to find a further chunk of improvement if heading into group company for something like the Lillie Langtry at Goodwood later this month. Over at Maisons-Laffitte in France on Saturday, the Group 2 Prix Eugene Adam was won by Heshem, who only made his debut in March and is now rated 118p (from 91p), and the Group 3 Prix Messidor was won by Vadamos who edged his rating up to 125.

The good-quality racing wasn’t just confined to the Flat on Saturday, either, as Red Tornado and Long House Hall gave the Dan Skelton yard a valuable double at Market Rasen with wins in the listed Summer Handicap Hurdle and listed Summer Plate Handicap Chase respectively. Red Tornado took his form up another notch as he made a successful start in handicaps, notching his fifth win on the bounce in the process, and he’s likely to be kept on the go given he's not the sort to thrive under testing conditions in mid-winter. Long House Hall, who finished runner-up in the Coral Cup over hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival in March, took his form to a smart level as he won by eight lengths, albeit the final margin flattering him slightly after several of his rivals exited at the last.

The pattern racing continued on Sunday with the Minstrel Stakes and Kilboy Estate Stakes, both Group 2s at the Curragh. Eight-year-old Gordon Lord Byron followed up his Tipperary minor event in June in the former race, winning it for the second year running (awarded it last year after first past the post Home of The Brave subsequently failed a drugs test). The 120-rated Gordon Lord Byron deserved some extra credit, too, as he was carried left by the wayward front-runner Toscanini in the final furlong, and he’ll clearly need considering in the Renaissance Stakes back here next month. The 112-rated Bocca Baciata didn't need to improve to gain her first win at Group 2 level in the Kilboy Estate, and that it was achieved under vastly different circumstances to her front-running second to Minding in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes the time before is a testament to her versatility. She will reportedly be campaigned at Group 1 level until she’s retired at the end of the season.

Finally, a mention must also go to Godolphin’s Blue Point who was deeply impressive display when making it two out of two in a Doncaster minor event last Thursday. He holds entries in both the Gimcrack and National Stakes and his latest effort really put down a marker for both contests, with his new rating of 116p second only to the 123p-rated Coventry winner Caravaggio among the two-year-olds in Europe.