Ratings Update: Blessing shows Signs of sprint potential

The Shergar Cup at Ascot dominated many of the headlines on Saturday and there was an exciting conclusion to the event, with the five points Kenichi Ikezoe earned for finishing fourth in the final race, just enough to see his Rest of the World team lift the prize named after the Aga Khan's legendary Derby winner of 1981. 

Thierry Jarnet and South African jockey Gavin Lerena received most of the riding plaudits with doubles on the card, while the equine performance of the meeting came from the three-year-old Kadrizzi (now Timeform-rated 113), who showed smart form to regain the winning thread in the final race on the card and is likely to have the top sprint handicaps on his agenda from now on.

However, the action at the Berkshire track generally had very little impact at the highest reaches of the sport and the best performances of last week on Timeform ratings took place elsewhere, with the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday perhaps of most significance with the future in mind.

Caravaggio came into Sunday's race on the back of a most impressive success in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot and maintained his unbeaten record with the minimum of fuss, becoming the first horse since Fasliyev in 1999 to do the Coventry/Phoenix double and consolidating his position as the best two-year-old colt of the season so far. Indeed, an unchanged Timeform rating of 123p suggests it will be extremely difficult for any rivals hoping to surpass him in that regard and it wouldn't be a surprise if he wasn't capable of better still, such was the ease of his victory at the weekend. He's reportedly set to stay at six furlongs for now, setting up a clash with the awesome Queen Mary winner Lady Aurelia in the Prix Morny at Deauville. 

In this very column 12 months ago, we spoke in equally glowing terms about the then latest Phoenix Stakes winner, Air Force Blue (albeit he was rated some 7 lb below Caravaggio at the same stage of their careers), and he went on to establish himself as the outstanding two-year-old of 2015. The wheels have well and truly come off this time round, though, and retirement looks the most likely option on the back of a fourth consecutive below par display, this time in Sunday's Group 3 Phoenix Sprint Stakes at the Curragh. He came home last of the seven runners and some 18 lengths behind the winner, Toscanini (118), who has proved better than ever since adopting more positive tactics and - sure to remain competitive in group company - it wouldn't be a huge surprise were he to be supplemented for next month's Sprint Cup at Haydock. 

The Merseyside track held a good quality card of its own on Saturday and the Group 3 Rose of Lancaster Stakes looked a well up to scratch renewal, with Newbury listed-winner Scottish (119) sent off the 7/4 favourite in a field of six, which also included long-term absentee Arab Spring (119+) and the unexposed three-year-old Royal Artillery (118p). The latter had looked an exciting prospect when making a successful racecourse debut at Doncaster in September and confirmed that promise when getting the better of a sustained battle with the market leader on Saturday. He looks just the sort his trainer will eke out more progress from in time and should make a better four-year-old, while Arab Spring shaped well in third and - granted a stiffer test of stamina - he could well return to his very smart best next time.

Abdon (116+) and Aljazzi (106p) produced other performances of note on the Haydock card and the former identified himself as a smart prospect with a defeat of the similarly unexposed Gershwin (112p). Abdon looks well worth another try in pattern company on that evidence, while Nations Alexander (99) was a decisive winner of the feature race at Newmarket on Saturday, the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes, and has also earnt herself a crack at something better now. The Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh was mentioned as a possible target in the immediate aftermath, although she would need to be supplemented.

Meanwhile, Rose de Pierre (109p) impressed with the manner of her victory in the listed Platinum Stakes at Cork on Tuesday, seeing off the attentions of several battle-hardened campaigners and appearing to have more in hand than the official winning margin suggests. There should be more to come after just three starts in her short career to date, while Stellar Mass (114) has endured a far busier time of things and demonstrated his durability when landing the Group 3 Ballyroan Stakes on what was his eighth start of the season at Leopardstown on Thursday. The Great Voltigeur Stakes at York's Ebor Festival could be next on the agenda.

The best performance of the week on Timeform ratings came at Deauville on Sunday, though, Signs of Blessing (123) making all the running and displaying a tenacious attitude to see off all comers in the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest. His victory was marred by the fatal fall of high-class Hong Kong-based sprinter Gold-Fun, but that effort represented a slight improvement on the form he showed when finishing third in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Ascot and he could return for a crack at the Sprint on British Champions Day.