It all looked a bit rushed for Lambourn - but there's a good reason for making allowances

There's no denying Lambourn looked less impressive at the Curragh on Sunday than he had done at Epsom three weeks earlier, but that surely has a lot to do with the fact this was less of a stamina test. This Irish Derby took nine seconds less to run than the English version had done, a big difference even allowing for the contrasting nature of the tracks.

While the Curragh is less of a test than Epsom, the Racing Post's standard time for a mile and a half there is only three seconds quicker than for Epsom. The going was officially good for both races but in reality must have been faster on Sunday, and the way the race was run evidently also contributed to a fast time.

Small wonder if it all felt a bit of a scramble from Lambourn's perspective. He was being asked to do it all quicker this time and of course no-one is in danger of mistaking him for a push-button rocket.