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Ratings Update: Almaqam shines in Brigadier Gerard Stakes 1k3z5y

Tony McFadden provides the Timeform ratings reaction following Sandown's Brigadier Gerard Stakes meeting. 5o3d6b

The pick of the week's action came at Sandown on Thursday night with the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes headlining a high-quality six-race card. The best performances of the evening came in the main event itself with Ombudsman (122 from 114p) showing improved form to fight out the finish and pull clear of the remainder.

It was Almaqam, in receipt of 3 lb from his main rival, who proved the stronger and scored by a length and three-quarters in a good time to earn himself a very smart Timeform rating of 123. Indeed, such a level marks him out as a major contender for Group 1 honours in a wide-open division and doesn't put him far behind the first two home from the Tattersalls Gold Cup, Los Angeles and Anmaat (both 125). White Birch, who wasn't seen to best effect in fourth in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, is the highest-rated middle-distance horse in Britain or Ireland, while French geldings Calandagan (129) and Goliath (128) are the highest-rated horses in Europe.

Almaqam's Timeform performance rating of 123 matches the figure subsequent King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Hukum achieved in the race two seasons ago. The highest Timeform performance rating in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes in the last decade was the 125 earned by subsequent Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge in 2023.