THE jumps season went up a notch or two last week, in Ireland though less so in Britain, with a handful of graded and listed races.

Easy Game put up just about the chase performance of the season so far in winning the Grade 2 PWC Champion Chase at Gowran Park on Saturday by seven lengths from The Storyteller, returning a time more than 8.0s quicker than the concluding beginners’ chase. That results in a timefigure of 156 for Easy Game though stiffer tasks presumably lie ahead.

Shewearsitwell was easily fastest of three winners at two miles over hurdles and one bumper at the same trip at Tipperary last Sunday and earned herself a 143 rating in the Joe Mac Novice Hurdle.

That theoretically makes her good enough to win or nearly win the Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

That figure also puts her at the top of all novice hurdlers seen so far this season, though a figure well into the 150s is usually needed to justify that accolade after the new year.

Sprint finish

One of those slower two-mile hurdles was the Horse & Jockey Hotel Hurdle, which readily went to Champion Hurdle fancy Saint Roi, though the race culminated in something of a sprint finish.

His timefigure for this is negligible (88), but he remains on 145 for his win in the County Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham and is open to plenty of improvement.

Galvin’s win in the four-runner Like A Butterfly Novice Chase later at Tipperary was backed up by a useful time (147) and confirms that he is every bit as good as when second at Cheltenham back in March.

Another novice chaser, Benruben, had been nearly as good (144 timefigure) when taking a particularly strongly run Grade 3 at Roscommon at the beginning of the week from Razoul (143).

There were also listed wins at Gowran on Friday from 143-rated Buildmeupbuttercup in a mares’ hurdle and from 123-rated Purple Mountain in a mares’ bumper.

In Britain, there were smart handicap chase wins from Nuts Well (155) at Kelso last Sunday and Imperial Presence (149) at Fontwell on Friday week.

Of even more consequence, with the future in mind, were arguably the maiden chase wins of Getaway Trump at Warwick and Hurricane Harvey at Uttoxeter.

The former – a 153-rated hurdler not so long ago – got it right at the fourth time of asking over larger obstacles, conceding weight to the fairly useful four-year-old Zoffee and returning a 141 figure in beating him by a length.

Hurricane Harvey claimed the notable scalp of Rendlesham Hurdle winner Emitom on both their debuts over fences, albeit by just a neck and with Emitom shaping particularly well.

The upshot are 136 timefigures on both, but with more than normal improvement likely to be forthcoming from each of them.