The clock proves that Quickthorn did do something special on the Knavesmire

Quickthorn looked so good in the Lonsdale Cup, but should we believe our eyes? The time of the race is always my first guide before making an assessment and it was fast. Quickthorn ran 1.4sec quicker than the Racing Post standard and he didn’t go slow early. He went a solid pace throughout and broke his rivals.

Was Tom Marquand given too much rope up front? He might have been given a little too much, but his rivals weren’t making any significant progress on him in the final three furlongs and their finishing speed percentages were only slightly faster than the winner’s. It is therefore fair to conclude that the riders of the beaten horses didn’t misjudge the pace.

Our heads always tend to nag away at us, telling us that if something is too good to be true in appearance it probably is too good to be true in reality. But the overall time and sectional times point to this being an exception, and Quickthorn really did do something special.