CHARLES DARWIN (2.30) sets the standard for his rivals to aim at in the opening Norfolk Stakes.
The boffins at Timeform have given him a rating of 109p, a whopping 11lb CLEAR of nearest rival Afjan (98P).
No two-year-old had achieved a higher rating than Charles Darwin heading into Royal Ascot this season, while Tuesday’s impressive Coventry Stakes winner Gstaad (111p) is now rated only 2lb higher.
Sioux Nation, in 2017, was the last Norfolk hero who ran to a higher level than Charles Darwin’s rating.
The colt’s trainer Aidan O’Brien is also responsible for Gold Cup favourite Illinois, though the one to beat on form is last year’s runner-up Trawlerman.
TRAWLERMAN (4.20) has a Timeform rating of 124 based on the form he showed when chasing home staying star Kyprios, while he also ran to the same level when beating the same rival – who admittedly wasn’t at his best – in the 2023 Long Distance Cup.
Those pieces of form place Trawlerman 4lb clear of favourite Illinois and Sweet William on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings.
There are a host of progressive colts in the Britannia, including RAAFEDD (5.00) who showed much-improved form and a good turn of foot when getting off the mark at Newbury.
He won with much more in hand than the margin of two lengths would suggest, and he still has the Timeform ‘small p’ to show he’s likely to improve again this afternoon.
The second and third both won next time out and Raafedd looks fairly treated on his handicap debut, heading Timeform’s weight-adjusted rating by 2lb.
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