THERE was plenty of good supporting action at a Fairyhouse meeting which has occasionally been done no favours compared to other major jumps Festivals by the timing of Easter.

Augusta Kate took the Mares’ Novice Hurdle Championship on Sunday from her odds-on stablemate Let’s Dance with a solid 145 timefigure which suggests this was a decent test of stamina in the end. Augusta Kate probably needs every yard of this two and a half miles, whereas the opposite may be true of Let’s Dance.

Three races at two miles on Monday made for easy comparison, and it is clear that the Avoca Dunboyne Juvenile Hurdle won by Project Bluebook in a time more than seven seconds slower than the Rathbarry Glenview Studs Hurdle won by Diakali and the bumper won by Samcro represented a test of finishing speed and may not be especially solid form.

Project Bluebook – previously fourth in a handicap at the Cheltenham Festival – gets a timefigure of just 103, while Diakali (153) and Samcro (115) come out of the comparison much better.

Samcro, who makes it into the top 20 for bumper horses in a season in which none stamped its authority on the division, is unbeaten in three now and looks a smart prospect for novice hurdling.

An undemanding pace meant that Renneti’s authoritative win in the Keelings Irish Strawberry Hurdle is not backed up by the clock (115 timefigure but 107.3% finishing speed), while the Grade 3 Mares’ Chase won by Slowmotion looks a weak contest of its type and is accompanied by a timefigure of just 113.

There was little to get excited about over jumps in Britain in the same period, but it’s worth noting a surprisingly quick success by Tommy Silver in the Sussex Champion Hurdle at Plumpton on Easter Sunday.

The Paul Nicholls-trained five-year-old seemed suited by a strong pace back at around two miles, and his time of 3m 34.2s is equivalent to a timefigure of 155 as well as being reflective of ground that was quicker than has been generally prevailed of late.