Ratings Update: Epsom's Derby Festival 6f2gh

Last season's St Leger winner Jan Brueghel (128 from 119p) had suffered the first defeat of his career on his reappearance in the Alleged Stakes over an inadequate mile and a quarter at the Curragh in March, but he proved a different proposition with that run under his belt and upped to a mile and a half in the Coronation Cup at Epsom.

Jan Brueghel had looked awkward under pressure on his return to action, but he showed a willing attitude at Epsom and found plenty to fend off high-class rival Calandagan with the pair pulling well clear. That performance earned Jan Brueghel a Timeform rating of 128 which marks him out as the t-highest-rated horse in Europe along with last season's King George winner Goliath, who didn't need to be at his best to win a Group 3 at Longchamp on Sunday.

A performance rating of 128 is the highest in the Coronation Cup since Ghaiyyath ed 131 when beating Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck in the rearranged version at Newmarket in 2020. Jan Brueghel's performance is rated as the best in a Coronation Cup at Epsom since Postponed achieved the same rating in 2016.

Calandagan (127 from 129) has been usurped as Timeform's highest-rated horse in Europe but his half-length defeat in the Coronation Cup was still a high-class one on the figures. After nearly drawing upsides a furlong out, he was possibly outstayed by a horse proven over further, though it was the fourth time in a row that he's finished runner-up and there's also a question over whether he was outbattled.

Minnie Hauk gets the better of thrilling tussle in Oaks

Minnie Hauk (119p from 100p) was the lowest rated of Aidan O'Brien's trio heading into the Oaks, with the form of her Cheshire Oaks win rated a stone lower than Whirl's Musidora victory, but she was the choice of Ryan Moore and she rewarded that faith by producing a much-improved display to edge out her stablemate by a neck.

Minnie Hauk had to work hard to master Whirl after edging to the front a couple of furlongs out, but the pair deserve credit for finishing four lengths clear of the 1000 Guineas winner Desert Flower who was unable to replicate the sort of form she had shown when a wide-margin winner of the Fillies' Mile last season.

The first two home have been rated 119p which compares well to the average Timeform performance rating of an Oaks winner in the last decade, which is a shade above 117. Both remain capable of better, and that's especially the case with Minnie Hauk who has raced only four times and has shown significant run-to-run improvement the last twice. 

Minnie Hauk and Whirl are now Timeform's highest-rated three-year-old fillies and wouldn't have much to find with the leading colts after their 3 lb sex allowance is factored in. Field of Gold is the highest-rated three-year-old colt on 124p and could step up into the middle-distance division in the Eclipse.

Lambourn dominates in the Derby

There was a big field for the Derby - 2003 was the last time more than 18 runners went to post - but it was an uneventful race and nothing looked like landing a blow on the front-running Lambourn (122 from 112p) from a long way out. Only twice in the last decade has the Derby winner won by further than Lambourn, who scored by three and three-quarter lengths, but plenty of his rivals failed to fire, notably the other runners at single-figure prices, and he was chased home by outsiders, so it's difficult to take a positive view of the form.

You have to go back to Ruler of The World (120) in 2013 to find the last Derby winner with a lower Timeform performance rating than the 122 Lambourn ed. Ruler of The World is also the only one of O'Brien's ten previous Derby winners who ed a lower Timeform performance rating than Lambourn, though the likes of Serpentine (122), Anthony Van Dyck (123) and Wings of Eagles (123) all ran to similar levels. 

It may not have been a strong Derby, but Lambourn still deserves credit for the emphatic style of success, and sectionals suggest that he wasn't flattered at Epsom but merely received a well-judged ride that sensibly brought his stamina into play.

Also on Derby day, Persica (119 from 117) produced a career-best effort to defy a penalty in the Group 3 Diomed Stakes. Persica had struggled in the Lockinge on his previous outing but, returned to a more suitable level, quickly got back on track. Docklands (remains 118) shaped well in third, beaten less than a length, and he may well have pushed the winner close had he not needed to wait for a gap and conceded first run as a consequence.

One of the most notable handicap performances at Epsom came in the mile-and-a-quarter handicap on Oaks day courtesy of Ecureuil Secret (117 from 106). Ecureuil Secret, who had been gelded ahead of his return to action and handicap debut, travelled strongly, was produced to lead over two furlongs out and soon had matters under control, ultimately ing the post with a four-length advantage. He had some useful placed form at Group 3 and listed level last season, but this represented a big step forward and he ran to a high level for a horse in a handicap. This was only his second start for Richard Fahey (he had previously been with Edward O'Grady) and he should hold his own back in minor Group company.