RaceiQ: data points to two at York on Thursday

Staya was an impressive winner on  debut at Yarmouth, clocking a winning time that rated 9.4 out of ten on our Time Index. She showed an impressive turn of foot, given how green she looked, hitting 43.74mph in the third furlong and looked a very exciting prospect.

She was slightly out of her depth in the Queen Anne next time, but set the record straight when galloping powerfully to the line to land the Listed Dragon Stakes at Sandown. This was despite her slow start, taking more than a tenth of a second longer to reach 20 mph than any other horse in the race.

Stepped up to six furlongs last time in the Princess Margaret Stakes, it was clear that the extra distance suited her, but unfortunately she reaffirmed that her starts are her Achilles heel.

She was once again the slowest horse out of the stalls, taking 0.43 seconds longer to reach 20mph than the winner, Fitzella.

This meant that she forfeited crucial ground in the early stages, finding herself 0.85 seconds behind Fitzella by the end of the first furlong, who was dictating her own fractions in front.

Despite completing the next four furlongs faster than Fitzella, the writing was already on the wall, and she failed to make up the ground she had already given away.

For that reason, I think she can be easily marked up for that performance. Given that she can only keep learning from experience, this could be the day that everything comes together for her in the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes (1.50).

A couple of hours later, the mile-and-a-half Sir Henry Cecil Galtres Stakes (4.00) boasts a very competitive line up, but I think Alice Monet is being underestimated based on her Fairyhouse win two starts ago.

She looks like a very straightforward type. In all three starts since her debut, she was one of the first two horses to reach 20mph and has set the fractions in front.

At Fairyhouse over 6f, it was clear she didn’t have the speed for sprints, but stepped up to 1m2f next time, her dominance was stark.

She set strong fractions in front, galloping her rivals into the ground. Her final three furlongs were completed in 36.37 seconds, more than a second and a half faster than any other horse in the race.

Her win time was particularly impressive as well, recording a rare 10 out of 10 on our Time Index.

Next time, she capitalised on her generous-looking mark of 85 to land the spoils in a handicap at Leopardstown, and this step up in trip looks like it will bring out further improvement.

She is lacking the experience of others as she moves up in grade, but can draw the handy weight allowance for three-year-olds and could be right in the mix here at a decent price.