THERE was plenty of decent action away from Ascot, in both Britain and Ireland. Friday’s card at Sandown presented a neat conundrum which time analysis can hopefully help to solve.

Did Glen Fosra’s 19-length defeat of 149-rated Kalashnikov in the three-runner Kingmaker Novices’ Chase at Sandown represent an outstanding performance, no great improvement on what he had done previously, or somewhere in between? I am going for the last option.

In time terms, he was fully 2.7s faster than the useful handicap chaser Not Another Muddle in the previous race, but Glen Forsa carried 13lbs less. That results in timefigures of 147 for Glen Forsa (boosted to 150 on late sectionals, which were quite quick) and 140 for Not Another Muddle. Glen Forsa’s figure would give him a major shout in the Arkle Chase in an ordinary year but has him still seven behind Le Richebourg as things stand.

RESPECTABLE

Queenohearts ran a respectable 126 timefigure in winning the Grade 2 Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle on the same Sandown card.

Haydock last Saturday featured three hurdles over an extended three miles which could include at least one major pointer for the Cheltenham Festival. Shades Of Midnight ran 363.2s in winning the Rendlesham Hurdle, Sykes ran 366.1s in winning the Pertemps Qualifier and Lisnagar Oscar ran 364.7s in winning the Albert Bartlett Prestige Novices’ Hurdle.

That translates into timefigures of 143, 138 and 133 respectively, but it is Lisnagar Oscar’s performance that is particularly interesting with the Albert Bartlett proper in mind.

He ran from three out (a bit over three furlongs from home) almost 6.0s/30 lengths faster than the older Shades Of Midnight had done. While that earlier race was run at an unforgiving gallop, and the novice race was not, that is still a vast difference and reflects very well on Lisnagar Oscar, who gets a 149 figure once sectionals have been factored in. He is top at this stage for Cheltenham.

Shades Of Midnight, who had been placed in handicaps on his two most recent efforts over hurdles, gets upgraded (for the opposite reason) to 148 on sectionals.

Jester Jet’s win in the listed mares’ hurdle on the same card equates to a 140 timefigure, while Quel Destin’s Victor Ludorum success was in a very slow race (109 timefigure compared to his 136 best), and Robinsfirth and Ramses De Teillee returned smart 154 timefigures in filling the first two positions in the Grand National Trial.

TESTING CONDITIONS

Over at Wincanton, Grand Sancy struck another blow for novices against more seasoned types by winning a substandard Kingwell Hurdle with a 138 timefigure, upgraded to 148 on account of fast late sectionals. He is up there with the best in his division, probably a bit better suited by this test of speed than he had been by more testing conditions and slightly longer trips on his previous two starts.

Atlanta Ablaze’s time in winning a two-finisher listed mares’ chase was slower than Some Chaos in winning an ordinary handicap chase later on the card, and her 125 timefigure underlines that her 15-length defeat of Molly Childers cannot necessarily be taken at face value.