Babouche top of juvenile leaderboard and has more to offer - as does the runner-up who is 'heading in right direction'

The first Group 1 race of the season for two-year-olds went the way of a filly for just the fourth time this century, as Babouche maintained her unbeaten record with another improved performance in the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh to take her to the top of the juvenile leaderboard with a Racing Post Rating of 111+.

That's not a great standard for the time of year but, factoring in the 3lb fillies' allowance, the males are going to have to run to a figure of 115+ to beat her, and that's some way off what the leading colts have shown themselves capable of so far. Aidan O'Brien's Curragh runner-up Whistlejacket rates among the best of them on 108, just behind Railway Stakes-winning stablemate and leading 2,000 Guineas fancy Henri Matisse on 109.

Adjusted for the fillies' allowance, Babouche's RPR falls just shy of the race standard for the Phoenix Stakes winner, but compares more favourably with the figures recorded by the other three winning fillies this century. The most recent, and best, of them was 2011 winner La Collina on 112, with 2004 winner Danson on 110 and Saoirse Abu on 108 from 2007.