HISTORY will record that this year’s Boylesports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday was run in a time quite a bit quicker than the average for the previous decade, on ground accurately described as “good to yielding”. But what it most certainly was within that context was a thorough test.

After Total Recall and Acapella Bourgeois led at various stages at a good gallop, Whisperinthebreeze made a bold and ultimately unsuccessful bid for glory with well over a mile to go, which did however smash the field up.

Few could keep tabs on the grey, but a trio of Willie Mullins-trained horses did, and in the end it was Burrows Saint who emerged victorious, holding his stablemates Isleofhopendreams and Acapella Bourgeois.

Quite what a toll that earlier pace had taken is underlined by the finishing speed, which at 93% of the average race speed was notably slow.

In the circumstances, the winner’s 155 timefigure (153 for second and 156 for third) is highly meritorious from a youngster with probably more to give, though he and the other principals may need some time to recover from such a gruelling experience.

Burrows Saint will not need to improve by much to be knocking on the door as a Cheltenham Gold Cup candidate next season.

Overall, Fairyhouse seemed to benefit from its later-than-usual slot, and there were plenty of other winners that were useful or better.

On the Sunday, Honeysuckle (140 timefigure) won the Mares’ Novice Hurdle Championship emphatically, Impact Factor (143) emerged victorious in an incident-packed novice handicap chase, and Voix Du Reve (154) confirmed his standing as a smart novice chaser in winning the Ryanair Gold Cup Novice Chase by a clear margin from Real Steel (148).

It should be remembered that Voix Du Reve had looked some way inferior to Le Richebourg (157) earlier in the campaign and that both are even further behind Duc Des Genievres (170) and A Plus Tard (168) among novice chasers at shorter distances.

Otherwise on Irish Grand National Day, French Made (137) downed the Triumph Hurdle third and second Gardens Of Babylon (143) and Coeur Sublime (126) in the Rathbarry Glenview Studs Juvenile Hurdle, without looking as if she will definitely be a danger to the best hurdlers in open company next term.

Rashaan won a Grade 2 hurdle, weakened by the early departure of Wicklow Brave and the slight under-performance of the other market leaders, with a timefigure of 146, while Jett (150) had only The Storyteller (153) as a credible rival in the end in the Grade 2 chase.