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Hartnell made full use of the absence of Winx to claim a dominant win in the Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.

Having returned with a solid second behind Winx in the Warwick Stakes, Hartnell, who settled off the leaders in third for much of the race put away his rivals with ease in the straight to win by just under eight lengths with Grand Marshal in second and Storm The Stars third.

Hartnell returned a Timeform figure of 124, equal to his previous highest achieved when winning the Group 1 BMW (2400m) last year, four pounds higher than his second placing in the Warwick Stakes.

Hartnell returned the same figure as 2015 winner Complacent which is the highest rated winner of the race since Theseo in 2010 (125).

The winning margin of just under eight lengths is the biggest of the race in last 25 years by a long way, with next best coming from Oppressor in 1995 who won by three and a half lengths.

Hartnell became the fourth horse in the last 25 years to win the BMW – Chelmsford double with Eremein (2006) and Might And Power (1998) doing it in the same year and Dr Grace (1992) doing it over two years as Hartnell has done.

Nominated for both the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate later in the spring, connections have indicated the Group 1 Metropolitan (2400m) is the immediate target for Hartnell.

The Chelmsford – Metropolitan progression is not an overly popular one highlighted by the fact that no horse has done the double since Hayai in 1984, Ming Dynasty in 1978 another that has done it.

Should Hartnell head towards the Cox plate, the last runner to win the Chelmsford – Cox Plate double was Might And Power in 1998 showing it takes a very good one to win the double with Lonhro winning the Chelmsford twice but unable to go on to win the Cox Plate as did Filante in 1996.

Of the beaten brigade Grand Marshal ran to 104, well below his previous peak of 104 but will obviously improve as he goes up in trip this campaign with Storm The Stars in third running to 104, well below his UK peak rating of 122.

The Racing and Sports field strength value (RSFS) of 122.7 was slightly below the 123.8 which saw a much bigger field of 16 runners.

Stablemate Hauraki made it a good day for the Godolphin team when returning with a win in the Group 2 Tramway Stakes (1400m).

Running on well from back in the field. Hauraki was able to get the better of Le Romain who was good in second with favourite Dibayani third.

Hauraki returned a Timeform figure of 120, two pounds below his previous best of 122 achieved on three previous occasions throughout his career, the most recent when runner up in the Group 1 Ranvet (1800m) behind Leebaz.

Heading towards the Group 1 Epsom (1600m) at Randwick later in the spring, no horse has completed the double in the last 25 years however Secret Admirer (2011), Desert War (2004) and Navy Seal (1994) have all placed in the Tramway before going on to win the Epsom.

Dodge in 1998 finished 10th in the Tramway before going on to win the Epsom with Iron Horse in 1997 running last in the Tramway before winning the Epsom.

The above shows that whilst it has been difficult for horses to win both in recent times that many Epsom winners have come out of this race as a good lead up run.

Le Romain finished second again in what was a solid run and he is certainly one to keep an eye on this spring, running to a new career peak of 122 with Dibayani in third running to 113, two pounds below his first up effort in the Aurie’s Star.

The Racing and Sports field strength value of 121.6 was below the Chelmsford Stakes (Also a Group 2) but well above the 2015 renewal of 117.6 taken out by Hooked.

Foxplay has more than likely earned herself a shot at the Group 1 Flight Stakes next month following a solid win in the Group 1 Furious Stakes (1200m).

Settling back in the field for much of the race, Foxplay was able to reel in Bacarella who finished second from Global Glamour in third.

The Chris Waller-trained runner ran to a new career peak Timeform rating of 111p, well her previous best of 102.

Foxplay ran three pounds below 2015 winner Speak Fondly and two pounds below 2014 winner Winx.

Streama was the last horse to win the Furious – Tea Rose double in 2011 with More Strawberries (2010), Samantha Miss (2008), Cheeky Choice (2006), Mnemosyne (2005), Prisoner Of Love (2004), Shamekha (2003), Victory Vein (2002), Unworldy (2000), Danglissa (1999), Sunline (1998), Stella Cadente (1997), Danarani (1994), Angst (1993) and Bold Promise (1991) all doing the double since 1991.

Since the inception of the Furious Stakes in 1986, 16 winners have gone on to win the Tea Rose at a winning strike rate of just over 50%.

The last four years has seen only Guelph in 2013 line up in the Furious before winning the Tea Rose which could indicate a change in connections not targeting all three-year-old filly feature races in the spring.

The last 25 years has seen nine runners complete the Furious – Flight Stakes double with Speak Fondly the most recent in 2015.

Stablemate Omei Sword who will line up in the Group 1 Golden Rose on Saturday bypassed the Furious Stakes and her current peak rating of 115p puts her as the highest rated three-year-old filly of the current season.