THE Dublin Racing Festival definitely threw up more questions than the answers we were expecting from it, writes Page Fuller. The biggest question being, will J.P. McManus be supplementing the Irish Gold Cup winner, Fact To File, for the Cheltenham equivalent next month?

He was extraordinarily disappointing at Kempton in the King George and, to be honest, the data doesn’t give us many clues. He never travelled at Kempton, but he approached the first four fences on average at 30.96 mph, basically the same speed as the average entry speed of 30.93 mph he approached the first four fences in the Ryanair Chase last year.

From a horseman’s perspective, the only explanation is that he resented the lightning quick ground that he faced at Kempton that day. What impressed me the most at Leopardstown, was the way he burnt off his rivals in such testing conditions.

The fractions set were fair, a complete contrast to last year’s renewal. For context, he completed the first mile of the race in 138.56 seconds, 0.2 seconds faster than he completed it last year on far quicker ground.

Whereas last year he was caught out by his rivals’ turn of foot, this year he maintained the gallop relentlessly and left his rivals trailing in his wake. His FSP of 102.48% highlights the fact that he only quickened up slightly, whilst the others just ran out of gas.

He approached the final three fences all faster than 29 mph, and his final fence entry speed of 29.95 mph was not just his second fastest, but more than a mile an hour faster than Gaelic Warrior. Which Festival race he runs in is the million dollar question but, Ryanair or Gold Cup, it will take a good one to beat him if the rain keeps falling.