Egyptian Ra set the world on fire but Ba Ba & Co weren't far behind

Last weekend's Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup result came neither as a surprise, nor as a disappointment, for connections of the stronger-fancied runners. At least it shouldn't have done.

Andreas Schutz took the defeat of Good Ba Ba by Egyptian Ra on the chin, but he might just as easily have taken it away as being as good as any performance the horse has produced - regardless of the fact another finished in front of him.

Others who were disappointed might see the race in a whole new light if they take a moment's reflection on the facts of the event, rather than the finishing order. Any race winner is not always the best horse - it is frequently not the best horse or performance in a race - but rather the horse best-poised, tactically, to be in front when the end of the race arrives.

That horse on Sunday was Egyptian Ra, just as it was Egyptian Ra in the International Mile Trial in November. On that day, Good Ba Ba's actual athletic performance was better than the winner's but he just wasn't in a position for that performance to have him in front at the winning post. So it was again on Sunday, but further back than second there were other performances full of merit, whatever the finishing position.

The first point to be made is the overall time of the race. If the Jockey Club's full and sectional times are to be accepted, Egyptian Ra has run one howler of a time. Certainly, his win sitting against the fence all the way put an end to premature 'trackulation' that the rail was any disadvantage. On the contrary, it was a totally fair surface, and Egyptian Ra's 81.01 seconds off the stick was quick enough at 0.61 seconds outside the track record.

But taking account of a surface not conducive to fast times, Egyptian Ra probably ran significantly under one minute, 20 seconds in real terms and the fastest 1,400m ever seen at Sha Tin, given that the record held jointly by Pocket Money and Flaming Lamborgini was established on each occasion on fast tracks. But go a little deeper last Sunday and the beaten performances behind the winner take on even more lustre.