Ratings Update: Magical Memory back to his best

The pick of last week’s action came from Newbury, with the listed Rose Bowl Stakes for two-year-olds being the feature race at the track on Friday. Several from Royal Ascot were involved but not many of the field were at their best, and the race was fought out between two fillies that had contested the Albany Stakes. Madeline (104p from 95p) was fifth in the Albany and upheld the form from that race with Natural (96p from 88p), who got back on the up after a slightly disappointing run at Ascot. Both of the front pair are open to further improvement, though the winner looks much more the finished article at this stage.

The Rose Bowl was run on good ground but persistent rain during Saturday morning turned the going soft at Newbury, and Spark Plug – favourite for the listed Steventon Stakes – was one of the day’s notable non-runners. That race was weakened further when Mount Logan got loose before the off and was also withdrawn, and What About Carlo (115 from 111), whose last three wins had all come on testing going, probably didn’t have to improve a great deal to come out best of the five runners.

The Group 3 Hackwood Stakes – won last year by The Tin Man – held up better in terms of numbers but wasn’t the easiest to weigh up given that the places were filled by the two outsiders in the betting. The favourite came out on top, however, with Magical Memory dispelling his connections’ concerns about the ground and looking back to his best (rated 120+) with a ready win. Given how well he saw out a testing six furlongs in this race, it was no surprise to hear the likes of the Park Stakes and the Prix de la Foret (both seven furlongs) mentioned as potential targets.

The Hackwood was run on soft ground but was followed by 30 minutes of heavy rain, and the going for the next race, the Super Sprint Stakes, was heavy by Timeform’s assessment. The test provided was unlike anything that these two-year-olds had faced previously, and though it is hard not to rate the performance of the six-length winner Bengali Boys highly (now rated 108 from 81), it must be open the question whether he’ll be able to repeat it. One who was better than the bare result was Corinthia Knight (remains on 96), who raced away from the main action having gone clear in his group after halfway and eventually finished fourth.

Conditions were also fairly soggy at Newmarket on Saturday, but the stamina test that was provided in the listed Aphrodite Stakes was right up God Given’s street, and the Fifty To Follow member improved a chunk (now 104p from 88p) to make her first start outside of maiden company a winning one. God Given was well positioned but deserves plenty of credit given that she took a strong hold during the early stages and was still able to see off the late challenge of Oaks also-ran Isabel de Urbina (now 102 from 100), who got her season back on track.

Market Rasen hosted a couple of valuable listed prizes on Saturday and though the field for the Summer Hurdle wasn’t as big as usual, it saw a level of performance matched only once before in the race’s history (Australia Day in 2010), with John Constable giving at least 10 lb away to all his rivals as he defied a 16 lb rise for his win in the Swinton last time in comfortable fashion. He is Timeform rated 151 (from 146) and is certainly worth his place in a graded hurdle race after this. The Summer Plate also saw a smart performance, this time from Alcala, who beat 14 rivals and defied a mark of 147. He is now Timeform rated 153 (from 148) but probably won’t be the easiest to place now from a BHA mark in the 150s, especially heading into the autumn.

British-trained runners lead home a 1-2-3 in Sundays Group 2 Prix Robert Papin, with Unfortunately (109 from 97) progressing again and surviving a stewards’ enquiry to come out on top over the speedy Frozen Angel (107 from 103) and the odds-on Heartache (down to 108p), whose finishing kick was perhaps blunted by the slightly easier ground compared to the Queen Mary, which she’d won impressively on her previous start.