WHILE Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham has a pretty good record in providing winners for the big occasion from among both winners and also-rans on the final Saturday in January that has not been the case with the featured Cotswold Chase.

You have to go back as far as the year 2000 and Looks Like Trouble for a horse who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup after winning what was then the Pillar Chase.

That may explain in part why this year’s winner, Definitly Red, is still available at 20/1 despite beating the promising American, the classy but erratic Bristol De Mai and the very smart The Last Samuri seemingly fair and square.

It could be that bookmakers and punters alike looked at the time of this year’s Cotswold Chase and thought it was nothing special – which it wasn’t – but to do so they had first to figure out that the official amended race distance had been wrong due to human error.

At the three miles, two furlongs and 70 yards officially reported, this was a Gold Cup-winning time from Definitly Red; at what transpired to be the true distance of 120 yards less, it was worth a far less exceptional timefigure of 143. It took the authorities 48 hours to correct themselves formally.

Sectionals show that the Cotswold featured a particularly slow finish and the combination of soft-to-heavy going and a strong pace saw Definitly Red thrive. Neither is guaranteed back here in March.

Definitly Red looks a bit over-priced for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, as his previous form – which is backed up by a 162 timefigure – also suggests he is far from a no-hoper.

Bristol De Mai might not have stayed under such gruelling conditions, but Definitly Red seemed to have his measure a fair way out. If it turns up soft on the final day of the festival, he could easily start in single figures.

The best relative time on the Cheltenham card, and the best timefigure of the week, came from an unexpected source.

Frodon ran away with what had looked a competitive handicap under top weight and in the process posted a 162 timefigure, running particularly swift sectionals at the business end.

SMART form

Frodon had smart form at two and a half to three miles previously, but this was something else, and it suggests he will have a live chance in the Ryanair Chase at the festival.

Double-figure odds for that race ante-post are too tempting.