THE week before Christmas might well be seen as the calm before the storm in horseracing, ahead of a period of wall-to-wall action, much of it of a high quality.

Perhaps, but the Ascot meeting on the final weekend before festivities commence has a fair record of producing some notable performances, and this year was no exception.

Indeed, last Friday’s card saw the best novice hurdle and the best bumper effort of the season so far on my figures.

The former came from Master Debonair in the Sky Bet Supreme Trial Novices’ Hurdle, a Grade 2 which used to be known as the Kennel Gate and which has been won by the likes of Angels Breath, Yanworth and L’Ami Serge.

Master Debonair could just be the best of them at this stage: the clock certainly suggests that may be so.

In a well-run race (as the sectionals show), the Colin Tizzard-trained five-year-old made all and powered clear late on from the promising northern challenger Ribble Valley and the useful bumper pair Time Flies By and McFabulous, to all of whom he conceded 3lbs.

It proved to be a fractionally faster time than recorded by Israel Champ in a classy and strongly-run bumper later on the card, when hurdles should have slowed down the former by around 4.5s in total, and is worth a 154 figure with me (Ribble Valley remains on 140).

That would be enough to win a Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in a poor year, and to be placed in all but a very good year, and Master Debonair should not have finished improving yet.

I have had a few quid on at 20/1, despite the significant figures of Envoi Allen and Abacadabras waiting in the wings.

Bumper Champ

Israel Champ, running under a penalty in that bumper, lowered the colours of the former divisional best Soaring Glory in what was a listed contest, going from the front and digging deep when it mattered.

He is now on 125 and the runner-up (who was ridden with less enterprise) has been edged down to 122.

A figure in the 130s is likely to be needed to win the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham in March, but this could well still be one of the key races going into that.

The other big performance at Ascot on Friday came from Angels Breath in the Grade 2 Jacquart Noel Novices’ Chase, 12 months on from that Kennel Gate win.

He had just one rival, in Mont Des Avaloirs, who was eased when clearly held, but that one is useful and Angels Breath did impress in showing him a clean pair of heels. I have a figure of 152 on the winner after some quite quick late splits have been factored in.

It looks like being another good season for novice chasers, and Angels Breath is probably one of the best of them, it’s very unfortunate that he suffered a serious injury and is out for the season.