Ratings Update: Almaqam shines in Brigadier Gerard Stakes 6w2p1q

The pick of the week's action came at Sandown on Thursday night with the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes headlining a high-quality six-race card. The best performances of the evening came in the main event itself with Ombudsman (122 from 114p) showing improved form to fight out the finish and pull clear of the remainder.

It was Almaqam, in receipt of 3 lb from his main rival, who proved the stronger and scored by a length and three-quarters in a good time to earn himself a very smart Timeform rating of 123. Indeed, such a level marks him out as a major contender for Group 1 honours in a wide-open division and doesn't put him far behind the first two home from the Tattersalls Gold Cup, Los Angeles and Anmaat (both 125). White Birch, who wasn't seen to best effect in fourth in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, is the highest-rated middle-distance horse in Britain or Ireland, while French geldings Calandagan (129) and Goliath (128) are the highest-rated horses in Europe.

Almaqam's Timeform performance rating of 123 matches the figure subsequent King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Hukum achieved in the race two seasons ago. The highest Timeform performance rating in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes in the last decade was the 125 earned by subsequent Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge in 2023.

The other Group 3 on the card, the Henry II Stakes, presented Trawlerman (remains 124) with a good opportunity and he resumed winning ways in comfortable fashion, drawing five lengths clear after dictating the gallop. Trawlerman is likely to go to the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot with the strongest form on offer based on his runner-up effort behind the recently retired Kyprios in last year's race.

The listed Heron Stakes was won by Almaqam last year and the most recent winner, Opera Ballo (112p from 108p), also looks likely to make his mark in Group races. He had disappointed when only sixth in the Craven Stakes after creating such a big impression on his first couple of starts, but he bounced right back with a two-and-a-half-length win and again appeals as an exciting prospect. He has already achieved a smart level and is capable of raising his game further if learning to settle better (he still took a strong hold at Sandown despite being fitted with a hood for the first time). He should prove at least as effective at seven furlongs given speed seems his main asset.

There was a surprise in the listed National Stakes as 25/1 shot Anthelia (90 from 73p) coped with the sharp rise in class to make it three from three. She'll be worth her place in the Queen Mary Stakes, though the standard-setter in the fillies' juvenile division, Lady Iman, is rated 100p. Among the juvenile colts, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin lead the way on 109p.

It was a relatively low-key weekend of racing but there was a notable performance at Haydock where Estrange (116p from 114p) impressed on her return in the Group 3 Lester Piggott Fillies' Stakes. Making her first start at a mile and a half, Estrange impressed with how she travelled before easily quickening clear to win by four and a quarter lengths. She still has the Timeform 'small p' to show that further improvement is expected after only four starts and she wouldn't have loads to find to make an impact in some of the best middle-distance races. For context, Kalpana, winner of the Group 1 Fillies & Mares Stakes last season and one of the market leaders for the Arc, is rated 4 lb higher on 120. Estrange's one defeat came when tackling fast ground at Yarmouth last season so she is likely to be kept away from quick conditions.

Also at Haydock, Ten Bob Tony (116 from 113) took a step forward to make the Group-race breakthrough in the John of Gaunt Stakes, though he was capitalising on the 5 lb he received from the penalised Kinross (121 from 120) who emerged best at the weights. Kinross is now eight but this encouraging return shows he retains his ability and should again be a force in the leading seven-furlong races.