FOLLOWERS of National Hunt racing have a variety of views about timefigures, sectionals, and the like.

To some, quantitative analysis has little application in the often chaotic environment of a jumps race, but to an increasing number of others it very much has its place in reducing what may be a bewildering number of possible interpretations of events otherwise.

In order to do the latter, you need accurate official race distances, including after rail movements, and times, or to be able to establish the same yourself. Fortunately, British racing has tackled this, though not always successfully, in recent years.

The Betfair Chase at Haydock is one of the many races that was run over the wrong distance until recently. But we now know that the base distance is 3m 1f and 125 yards, and that there was no alteration to that last Saturday on account of course reconfiguration.

We also know that Lostintranslation won the race in a time slightly slower (I made it just 0.2s, or a length) than Crievehill managed in a handicap at the identical distance earlier on the card. How come?

A number of factors are at play here, including that Crievehill is a smart performer – I have him rated 152 – who probably ran a fast time. Perhaps most pertinent among them, however, is that Crievehill’s race was run at a true pace but the Betfair Chase was not.

The leader in the latter race was over 4.0s (nearly 20 lengths) behind the leader in the former, who was Crievehill himself, at halfway. The gap was down to less than half of that by three out, but Lostintranslation and Bristol De Mai made only steady inroads thereafter.

In normal circumstances, you might expect the winner of the Betfair Chase to run about 5.0s quicker, not slightly slower, than the winner of the handicap, especially when the winner of that handicap carried more weight.

As a result, I have a basic timefigure of just 146 on Lostintranslation, with Bristol De Mai on 145. Those figures go up to an absolute maximum of 163 and 162 after sectionals have been factored in.

In effect, Lostintranslation had only one serious rival to beat on the day, with Frodon and Ballyoptic running poorly, and that rival ran more like the horse that was comfortably beaten into third at Cheltenham and fourth at Aintree than the top-notcher who won this in the previous two years.

Lostintranslation was visually very impressive, is young and has the credentials to go to the top. But I think there is mileage in believing he is not quite at the top just yet.

That is what the evidence of the clock suggests.