What can Racing Post Ratings tell us about the Classic trials and the main Guineas protagonists?

Pick of the performances from the Guineas trials at Newmarket and Newbury last week came from Haatem in the Craven Stakes, but after two heavy defeats by City Of Troy last year the form seems unlikely to have much impact on the outcome of the first Classic on Saturday week.

The step up to a mile for the Craven clearly suited Haatem and this was a significant improvement on his two-year-old form as he reversed Dewhurst form with Eben Shaddad, but a Racing Post Rating of 113 will require further progress to even make the frame in a typical Guineas.

Excuses can be made for Haatem's final three juvenile starts, and the form of his Vintage Stakes defeat of Iberian and Mountain Bear has been well franked by that pair since. Their subsequent form makes Haatem's new RPR more than feasible, but it's clear that he rates behind stablemate Rosallion (117+) both in regard and on what they have achieved on the track.