The consensus at Racing And Sports over the past six months is that there must be some better three-year-olds we haven't seen the best of, or hadn't seen at all, due to the Sydney Autumn weather.

Godolphin flexed their muscles on Saturday in Sydney with two strong performances that sent them to the top of the Golden Rose betting market.

In Secret- Run To The Rose

In Secret posted a Timeform rating of 113 in becoming the first every filly to win the Group 2 Run To The Rose (1200m) and outside of Fireburn and She's Extreme in the Slipper, Sires and Champagne, it is the highest winning rating by any of her crop, equalling Daumier's precarious looking Blue Diamond win.

With a quick glance at the recent winners of The Run To The Rose, In Secret's won't measure up well, with the five year winning average at a very healthy 121. Here's how they rated, and perhaps more importantly, how they went in the Golden Rose.

Anamoe (120+) – 2nd

Rothfire (122) - 4th

Bivouac (124+) - 1st

Lean Mean Machine (117) – 5th

Menari  (122p) – 3rd

Not quite the winning record one would hope from some very highly rated three-year-olds in the main lead up. Anamoe probably should have won a Golden Rose on a fairer track and Rothfire nearly died after fracturing his sesamoid as a $1.55 favourite. Menari had some excuses but was beaten by a better Trapeze Artist on the day while Lean Mean Machine was no match for The Autumn Sun.

Fireburn- still the benchmark?

In Secret comfortably handled her rivals on Saturday and it's hard to imagine anything turning the tables, except perhaps Fireburn. Given a quiet ride, she ran the second fastest last 200m of the race ~ 1 length slower than In Secret. A peak of 118+ in the Sires clearly says she can beat In Secret if they both run to their best, but it's still too early to say if her form was boosted by very heavy tracks in the Autumn. She's gone well enough first up to suggest she can get to somewhere near her Autumn level on better tracks and might be overlooked by the Golden Rose market at 10-1, especially if the track is wet in two weeks' time. There's no way she should be the same price as Best Of Bordeaux anyway.

Golden Mile- Ming Dynasty

The other big Godolphin winner was Golden Mile in the Group 3 Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m). A sectional star first up behind the now injured Kibou, he posted a new peak figure of 111 which is the best rating since Panzer Division beat Shooting To Win in 2014, who never won a race thereafter. Golden Mile stacks up very well against recent winners as seen below:

Coastwatch (105) - (3rd in Golden Rose)

Holyfield (109) - (3rd in Stutt, 13th in Coolmore)

Quick Thinker (109) - (1st in ATC Derby)

Danawi (105) - (recently ran 9th of 10 at Bowen)

Addictive Nature (106) - (3rd in Stan Fox)

The paths that Ming Dynasty winners take varies. Typically, the stables would be thinking they're more of a middle-distance type if getting to 1400m this early in the Spring however the stable confirmed he is also en route to a Golden Rose.

To my eye, In Secret looks the more brilliant of the two. I've got no queries with her at 1400m, but it'll be interesting to see what they do with her after the Golden Rose, with options at a mile in the Flight Stakes and Thousand Guineas, or back to 1200m for a Coolmore.

Golden Mile also has options, and it may rely on other horse's performances as to which whey Godolphin lead. Aft Cabin runs this Saturday in the Guineas Prelude and if he were to win, they might keep the pair in their respective states and put Golden Mile on a Stan Fox>Spring Champion path, the former of which he'd be nearly a complete lock in.

There isn't much between the Godolphin pair, as the Golden Rose market would suggest ($5 v $6), but it's finally good to see some of this crop start to put their hand up as Group 1 performers.