IT has been a long old haul through the winter for flat racing fans, though the pain has been eased by more than a few classy and/or promising performances on the all-weather.

Best of all has been Kachy, who has run 120 and 116 timefigures and who could be better than ever at the age of six, but the likes of Wissahickon (116 and 109 timefigures), Matterhorn,Corinthia Knight, Count Calabash and Documenting (all of them 110) are not so far behind him.

The best timefigures on the all-weather at Dundalk over the winter came from Playa Del Puente (108) and Western Australia (107), the one-two in a listed race early in March.

Arguably no winner was as promising in the same period as Roger Charlton’s Red Impression, who won a minor race at Lingfield in November with a 102 timefigure but fractions that mean she can be rated as highly as 114. If she transfers this to turf, she could well be a contender for a race like the Commonwealth Cup if she fails to show the stamina for the Guineas.

Other youngsters to note include: Charlie Appleby’s Zakouski (100) and Charlton’s Headman (96), the one-two in a strong novice at Kempton in November; Robert Cowell’s Rocket Action (104), an easy five-furlong winner at Newcastle in November; and William Haggas’s The Night Watch (97) and Roger Varian’s Moraawed (101), first and second in a minor race at Wolverhampton in December.

Those last few are rated on overall times and sectionals combined. Here’s hoping that more sectional information becomes available to the public in 2019, it is long overdue.