HAYDOCK was similarly heavy to Ascot, judged on times, and there is a similar need to make allowance for beaten horses failing to see things out.

Emitom was an authoritative winner of the Grade 2 Rendlesham Hurdle but was assisted in that by the poor efforts of his two main rivals. It stacks up quite well on time, though, and I have a 154 figure on him now with the possibility of more to come.

Ramses De Teillee was made for the slog that ensued in the Grade 2 Unibet Rendlesham Hurdle later on the card and eventually shrugged off Kalooki to record another 148 time-based figure.

The Victor Ludorum Juvenile Hurdle was one of the more steadily-run races on the card, with the speed from three out 110% of the average race speed, and that reflects even more credit on the clear-cut winner Sir Psycho, who had won by 31 lengths in the fog at Exeter the time before.

Sectionals

An ordinary overall time gets lifted to 139 on sectionals and makes Sir Psycho a live outsider for what is beginning to look an above average Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham. It remains one of the season’s mysteries how he got beaten at odds-on off an ordinary mark at Taunton a couple of starts back.

The Haydock Grand National Trial was not quite the X-rated spectacle it had promised to be, and Smooth Stepper and Lord Du Mesnil served up a good finish, with their rivals strung out behind or pulled up.

Smooth Stepper got up late for a 141-rated success, but the runner-up was conceding 11lb and comes out on 152 (small upgrade for going quite hard). That is quite a figure for a novice, and Lord Du Mesnil would be a legitimate contender for the RSA, or even more for the National Hunt Chase, and will be one of the best handicapped horses in the field for the Grand National itself.

Good novices

Unfortunately, it is unclear which, if any, of those races Lord Du Mesnil will go for, with soft/heavy going apparently felt to be important for him.

It is also worth noting the good novice winners earlier in the week, in First Flow (144, Leicester) and Greaneteen (142, Fakenham). In these rain-affected times, more good horses are popping up in unexpected places.