The Verdict Extra: Eyecatchers, winners in waiting and more

QIPCO British Champions Day delivered two brilliant performances on the clock from Trueshan in the Long Distance Cup, and Kinross in the Champions Sprint.

The ground was softer than the official description, which mitigated against cruise-and-quicken types. A sectional upgrade must also be given to Bayside Boy who won the QEII despite not getting the run of the race, and displayed an impressive turn of foot, given the conditions.

I have had a look at the action away from Ascot for the purposes of this column and have highlighted four races of interest. You can watch The Verdict (above) for my thoughts on the races from QIPCO British Champions Day.

The first race at Nottingham on Monday was an interesting mile maiden, and a race that should work out well.

The winner, Artistic Star, was a newcomer from the Ralph Beckett yard who looks sure to go on to better things next season, probably over further, but the runner-up, Westerton, looks a winner in waiting.

This was quite a strongly run race, given the soft conditions, and The Finishing Speed percentage (FSP), calculated by Course Track, details it as being 101.47%, which tells us that there was no hiding place for these two-year-olds.

It paid to race prominently, and the winner was always close to the pace, whereas Westerton made his run from further back in the field and impressed with how strongly he finished the race, with a final three-furlong split that was quicker than the better-positioned winner.

Artistic Star: 38.19s.

Westerton: 37.93s.

This was Westerton’s third start, and he improved a chunk encountering soft ground for the first time.

His final furlong of 13.02s was the fastest in the race, with the winner slower at 13.16s, and Westerton looks to be a horse worth backing next time out, as long as he gets soft ground. He would be interesting in a Nursery should he get a reasonable mark, too.

At Kempton on Wednesday, the novice stakes threw up something that we rarely see in the Course Track numbers.

In this case, I believe the horse who finished ninth of 11 shaped best, and that is backed up by the analytics. This was a steadily run affair, with the FSP being recorded as 105.34% for the winner, Beach Buoy. That tells us he finished his race off 5.34% quicker through the last three furlongs than he ran the rest of the race. However, Due Date finished the race much more strongly, recording an FSP of 110.26% to finish ninth.

Due Date was making his debut and was very green in the early part of the race, but once the penny dropped, he flew home. Even though he finished ninth, his final three furlongs were the quickest in the race. A comparison with the first three home is detailed below.

1st - Beach Buoy: 35.40s.

2nd – Trilby: 35.04s.

3rd - Berkshire Cruz: 34.87s.

9th - Due Date: 34.47s.

His final furlong of 11.12s was an indicator of his raw ability, and he was much quicker than all of his rivals. He can win next time out if kept on the all-weather.

John and Thady Gosden have a tremendous record with horses wearing a hood for the first time. Note Emily Upjohn at Ascot on Saturday, and for the purposes of this column, Audience at Leicester on Tuesday.

Audience made all and won a class two handicap with ease by over four lengths on what was his second handicap start, and the hood clearly made a big difference to him.

My initial impression was that he got an easy lead and therefore we should be wary of the result. However, a look at the Course Track figures tell a different tale.

Although the gallop was not furious, with an FSP of 103.97%, I don’t believe there is a suggestion that this horse crawled in front, then sprinted. I will concede that the first three furlongs at 12.59s, 11.56s and 11.48s were not furious, but Audience wound the pace up from there.

The next three furlongs quicker at 11.28s, 11.00s and 11.30s, and with the pace being wound up with four furlongs to go, there cannot be a suggestion of an easy time in front.

Audience was totally dominant and much improved plus there’s potential for yet more to come in the future. Based upon this performance, he could potentially win a Listed race.

Abduction featured in this column after he won at Ayr two starts ago and he should have won again last Monday at Musselburgh.

The winner, Autumn Festival, made all and set even fractions, which is always an advantage at this track. Abduction was held up and was consistently denied a clear run on the inside though the final two furlongs.

He was only beaten a length and, despite spending most of the last two furlongs having his momentum chopped, he still recorded the fastest final three furlong split in the race.

Final three furlongs:

Autumn Festival: 37.24s.

Abduction: 36.70s.

His final two furlongs were both quicker than the winner who enjoyed an untroubled run, and this tells us that Abduction is in top form and his potential to win again remains intact.