Royal Ascot 2012: Sectional records there to be broken by Frankel and Black Caviar

19-06-2012

By Simon Rowlands, Betfair

The presence of sectional timing at Royal Ascot this week will enable enthusiasts to compare horses in different races like never before at the meeting. Simon Rowlands reports.

For the first time at Royal Ascot, Turftrax will be providing by-furlong sectionals for all races at the meeting. This means that, for all Frankel and Black Caviar will not be taking on each other directly on the track, their respective sectional times can, and almost certainly will, be the subject of more than a little scrutiny.

Which will run the faster individual furlong? My money would be on Black Caviar.

Not only has she a shorter distance to run, but the weather forecast suggests the ground may be a bit quicker come Saturday (which is when she contests the Diamond Jubilee Stakes) than on Tuesday {which is when Frankel goes in the Queen Anne Stakes).

Then again, if the runners amble until past halfway in the Queen Anne, Frankel is clearly capable of putting in a very fast furlong. A sound pace from the outset in Black Caviar's race could see her posting good rather than truly exceptional individual by-furlong sectionals.

Fortunately, we have some history to go on where sectionals at Ascot are concerned, as TurfTrax provided information from the 2011 Qipco British Champions Day.

In effect, we have record sectionals - there to be broken this week - at the course already, examples of which are as follows:

Fastest furlong

6f WIZZ KID (2nd) 10.80 sec
8f (straight) FRANKEL (1st) 10.99 sec
10f NATHANIEL (5th) 11.13 sec
12f CRYSTAL CAPELLA (4th) 11.16 sec
16f OPINION POLL (2nd) 11.38 sec

Fastest last two furlongs

6f ROYAL ROCK (4th) 24.42 sec
8f (straight) FRANKEL (1st) 24.68 sec
10f CIRRUS DES AIGLES (1st) 24.33 sec
12f CRYSTAL CAPELLA (4th) 24.62 sec
16f COLOUR VISION (3rd) 24.93 sec

Fastest last three furlongs

6f ROYAL ROCK (4th) 35.33 sec
8f (straight) FRANKEL (1st) 35.67 sec
10f CIRRUS DES AIGLES (1st) 35.86 sec
12f BIBLE BELT (2nd) 36.24 sec
16f COLOUR VISION (3rd) 36.71 sec

All of these times were recorded on 15th October 2011, the only official record of sectional times at the track. But there were a couple of test days a fortnight beforehand, during which one horse unofficially recorded a furlong sectional of 10.22 sec in a five-furlong race.

It may be too much to expect any horse to record that sort of time - a fraction over 44 mph - given the likely easier going, but we shall see.

Black Caviar already has a 9.98 sec for 200 metres (equivalent to 10.04 sec for a furlong and a fraction under 45 mph) to her name, but that was on Flemington's flat-as-a-pancake course. The straight at Ascot has a steady 1.3% incline which slows horses down.

Timeform will be providing post-race analysis of sectionals each day at Royal Ascot, including a more contextualised look at what those sectionals signify about the horses' abilities and the circumstances of the races in which they have run.

Be sure to check these pages over the coming days.