REQUESTED PLEASURE IS A PATTERN CLASS FILLY

REQUESTED PLEASURE (36) ran a time that would win many Group 3 races for three year old fillies when taking a Leopardstown maiden. She'd run some good races in hot maidens before this and is improving with every run according to my speed ratings. She's already been entered in Group races and looks ready for a step up in class.

Runner-up JUBILANT NOTE (35) was unlucky to come up against such a smart horse in maiden company. He showed what he'd do to a normal field of non-winners by pulling well clear of the third. He'll be tough to beat next time.

EBAZIYAN IS A SMART HANDICAPPER

EBAZIYAN (37) won a strongly run handicap at Gowran Park in fast time. He'd finished with respiratory distress when losing at the Curragh last time and I'm beginning to wonder if big galloping tracks put too much of a stress on his breathing. After all he's now won both times he's run on tracks 11 furlongs or less in circumference and lost all four times he's raced on bigger ovals. It's too early to say really. But Ebaziyan is clearly a smart handicapper who looks capable of winning better races than this.

IMPERIAL ROSE (36) did really well for a three year old filly racing against older males to finish a length second. She's already won twice recently and is improving according to my ratings.

DON'T BET ON A REPEAT FROM GREY SWALLOW

Grey Swallow (44) ran right up to his best to take the Tattersalls Gold Cup on his seasonal debut. But I see a strong pattern in his form that leads me to believe he won't repeat this effort if he's brought back to the races within the next five weeks.

It seems to me that Grey Swallow goes best fresh. He's now won five times out of six when he's been rested for five weeks or more before a race, with his sole loss being his joint fastest effort according to my speed ratings. He's been brought back to the races with a break of less than five weeks on three occasions now and run below form every time. There's no question he's a very smart horse, but his seeming need for rests makes me suspect there is some underlying physical problem which causes it. This being so I'm going to take a negative view on Grey Swallow's future prospects. From a betting point of view I rather hope he has a couple of races quickly now (and loses them) and is then rested till the Autumn. That's the only way we'll get a fair price about him.

BAGO (44) yet again lost his position when the race began in earnest before finishing strongly. I see three possible explanations for this. Either he is really a mile and a half horse through and through, he simply hates going downhill, or he's basically a dirt horse racing on turf.

I've mentioned before that there are some strong influences for dirt in Bago's pedigree. And the thing about dirt horses is that due to the nature of the surface they don't need the instant acceleration which wins so many races on turf. Dirt has only about 10% of the shear resistance of turf. So if a horse tries to accelerate quickly its increased effort is largely dissipated in the production of greater clouds of kickback. I'm hoping that his connections decide to go for the Breeders Cup Classic on dirt which they almost did last year.

The idea that Bago hates going downhill has a good deal of merit. His trainer and jockey have mentioned this several times now, and he has lost position this season on both his starts on the downhill sections of Longchamp and The Curragh. For this reason I dare say his connections are very grateful that this year Bago won't have to face the downhill gradient of Swinley Bottom to win the King George. The race has been transferred to the near dead flat course of Newbury.

I would bet that Bago will win the King George very impressively. But don't forget his little quirk about running downhill after that. And, even if he fails to repeat his win in the Arc by losing ground going downhill, think long and hard about opposing him at Belmont Park whether he goes for the Breeders' Cup Classic or the Turf. Belmont, like Newbury, is dead flat.

ACE (43) turned himself into a solid prospect for all the big mile and a quarter races to come by running third. This run was absolutely good enough to win something like the Prince Of Wales or Eclipse Stakes. I kind of doubt that he'd get a mile and a half in a true run race given his pedigree. But why bother trying the longer trip when there are Group 1 ten furlong races within his reach?

AZAMOUR (43) had trouble both before and during the race, missing work due to a bruised foot and then getting horribly boxed in. He did tremendously well to get so close in the circumstances and remains one of the very best horses in Europe. He's obviously going to be hard to beat in the Prince Of Wales Stakes next time out. I'd say he must now be rated the best mile and a quarter horse in Europe. He has earned seriously big international class speed ratings from me on three occasions. In fact I had him running to a rating of 45 as a three year old which is huge. I can see him winning several of the top races this term.

DUBAWI FOR THE DERBY - I DON'T THINK SO

Earlier this season Dubawi (20) impressed observers when showing tremendous acceleration to win a gallop in Dubai. The difference between gallops and real races is that in gallops the horses invariably go slow early on while in races they go fast. But not in the Irish 2000 Guineas. The final time suggests the early pace was really slow. So it's interesting to note that once again Dubawi was able to show that blistering acceleration that his jockey and trainer have so often talked about. Clearly he can quicken up amazingly off a slow pace.

It may well be that Dubawi's tremendous speed means he doesn't really get a mile in a truly run race and that this explains his loss at Newmarket. Certainly he's shown very smart form over six and seven furlongs. If he were mine I'd be seriously thinking about dropping him back to sprint trips for races like the July Cup. As I see it, the idea of pushing him up to a mile and a half for the Derby is daft.

In the last dozen years all 48 Derby runners that prepped over a mile or less at three lost. And you have to go back to Secerto in 1984 to find a Derby winner that had two three year old starts at a mile or less as Dubawi now has. I'm convinced that today's speedily-bred runners don't get a mile and a half if you condition them to run shorter by racing them over a mile or less, and the stats back my opinion up.

Of course, I may be wrong. It could just be that Dubawi will settle in the Derby and then use his acceleration to mow his rivals down, but it doesn't seem to be the percentage play.

WATERWAYS IS UP TO GROUP CLASS

WATERWAYS (33) ranks as Group class for an early season two year old after her win in the Marble Hill Stakes. She would have won all three of her starts since losing on her debut but for one short head defeat. Her trainer says that she is improving and that's what my ratings say too. Quite how good she'll be I can't say. Right now she does look the best prospect for the Queen Mary we've seen so far.

FRENCH ACCORDION IS A DECENT CHASING PROSPECT

FRENCH ACCORDION (37) won an unusually fast maiden hurdle for the off season at Tipperary and is clearly a useful sort. He is bred for chasing and is apparently going to be give a break before coming back over the bigger jumps. If he can show this sort of form over fences he'll take some stopping in novice company.

Runner-up KING OF FOXROCK (36) pulled well clear of the third to chase French Accordion home and should have little trouble breaking his maiden over timber soon.

BEAUTYANDTHEBEAST LOOKS A GROUP CLASS FILLY

BEAUTYANDTHEBEST (36) won a strongly run conditions race at Naas in a time that would win a Group race for her age and sex by my estimates. She apparently failed to get home over ten furlongs in heavy ground last time and will be kept to seven and eight furlongs in future. Over this sort of trip I'd expect her to fulfill her connection's stated ambition of earning some back type very soon. In fact I think it's a bit of a pity she wasn't in the Irish 1,000 Guineas as I'd have rated her one of the fastest runners in that race.

HOW GOOD IS SHALAPOUR?

SHALAPOUR (37) won the Classic Trial at Gowran Park in a time that rates as Group class for a three year old. His only loss in three starts to date was a narrow one over an inadequate mile to Bob's Pride who won a Group 3 next time out.

As I see it Shalapour could be anything and might just be an Irish Derby horse. He's in the King Edwar VII stakes at York and would be a very interesting contender there. If he goes for something below that level beforehand I wouldn't care to oppose him.

OSTERHASE SURPRISES

I thought OSTERHASE (37) had little chance of winning the Cork Stakes at Fairyhouse. After all he seems best at six furlongs on fast ground and normally needs his seasonal debut. With the race being his first start of the year and being run over six furlongs on yielding going I happily drew a line through his name. I was certain he'd run some way below his best. He did but he still won anyway.

With improvement certain, Osterhase now looks likely to continue his dominance of Irish sprinting. I wouldn't want to oppose him locally over five furlongs on fast ground. He showed last season that he can run fast enough to be competitive with the very best sprinters in Europe. So it's pretty amazing he's yet to win a Group race. No doubt he'll fix that omission soon.

Runner-up Turnkey (37) earned the same speed rating from me as he did earlier this season and as a two year old. If he was ever going to beat older sprinters in pattern company this was the day. He had his ground and the opposition was weak. But it looks likely that he just hasn't improved much if at all from last year and will now be very difficult to place.

Third-placed Russian Blue (35) is in an even worse position. He's speed ratings have remained at exactly the same level since he made his first start more than a year ago. But the speed that made him a smart juvenile is just not enough to win at Listed or Group level at three. He's now lost seven in a row. I'd bet on him extending that losing run till the end of the season.

BARON DE FEYPO A SERIOUS THREAT AT GALWAY

I confess that I don't understand BARON DE FEYPO (36) but he ran a smart race on the flat for the second time in a row when winning the Tipperary Perpetual Cup at Clonmel. My speed ratings suggest that even with a big penalty his official flat handicap mark is going to seriously understate his real level of ability. This being so I'd say Baron De Feypo has a big chance of winning the GPT Amateur Rider's Handicap at the Galway Festival. If he runs on the flat between now and then I'd be very interested in his chances.

UGO FIRE THE FASTEST IRISH TWO YEAR OLD SO FAR

The Classic Trials at Leopardstown last Sunday didn't tell us much in terms of the clock because they were slow run affairs. The fastest time of the meeting was actually run by the two year old filly UGO FIRE (33) who ran away with a maiden race by seven lengths.

Ugo Fire probably improved because of the step up to six furlongs according to her trainer Kevin Prendergast. This suggests that she's more of a long term prospect than the early season five furlong speedballs we've seen so far.

CHRISTDALO IS WORTH FOLLOWING

Bumper races are usually run at a crawl. But the one that CHRISTDALO (36) won at Tipperary was run at a strong pace and produced a good final time.

The race was restricted to point to pointers and Christdalo has certainly done well in that sphere. She lost her first start between the flags (as most horses do). Since then she's won three of her four point to point starts and run a good second to the smart Oscar Grange in her only loss.

Christdalo is apparently now going to be aimed at novice hurdles. The time she ran here suggests that she's going to do rather well.

FEEL THE PRIDE HAS REAL CHANCE AT GALWAY FESTIVAL

FEEL THE PRIDE (37) won in fast time at Wetherby and followed up with a very easy win a couple of days later at Warwick. She's now won three chases in a row and has run fast enough to be a serious threat if she runs at the Galway Festival as planned. Her trainer, Jonjo O'Neill, has suggested that Feel The Pride is best on fast ground and it may well be she needs a bit of bounce in the ground to jump fences effectively. If she gets it I'd be wary of opposing her at Galway.

KICKING KING DOES IT AGAIN

KICKING KING (44) banged out another huge speed rating to win the Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup at the Punchestown Festival. This was his fourth Grade 1 win in a row and confirmed the impression that he is one of the very best chasers of recent years. Also confirmed by the fast time was the idea I've mooted here before that despite his pretty speedy pedigree Kicking King improves with distance. My speed ratings for him show a clear upward curve with increasing distance. The further he goes the faster he runs.

Even the best horses can get beat, as Moscow Flyer showed at the same meeting. And I suspect that Kicking King will be at his most vulnerable the next time he is cut back to a trip short of three miles. My speed ratings suggest that he's not so fast over two and a half miles or less and I'd be very happy to bet Moscow Flyer for one against him.

RULE SUPREME (43) ran his best ever race on the clock to chase Kicking King home. It may well be that his suspect jumping makes him best over fences in very small fields such as the one he faced here. Alternatively it could be that his jumping is improving as he gains experience. Either way Rule Supreme looks likely to win more Grade 1 races next term.

FORGET THE PAST STILL A NAME TO REMEMBER

I've been banging on about FORGET THE PAST (39) for months now. But I have to mention him again following his win in fast time at the Punchestown Festival.

With a bit of racing luck Forget The Past would still be unbeaten in seven starts over fences (if you include his point to point win). He's amazingly consistent and this leads me to believe that he is going to be one of those rare novice chasers that makes a successful transition to conditions chases against Cheltenham Gold Cup contenders. More experienced chasers jump a bit quicker and invariably earn speed ratings two or three points bigger than novices as a result. The fact that Forget The Past has never hit the deck and recovers so well from his mistakes leads me to believe he'll adapt to jumping faster. His trainer certainly seems to think so and nominated the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown as a possible target.