RACING in Britain last weekend was very much in the shadow of what was going on at Leopardstown, but there were still some noteworthy races and performances.

Buveur d’Air took a three-runner Contenders Hurdle at Sandown with the minimum of fuss, and with a timefigure of 139, compared to his best of 168 when winning the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham last year.

He is odds-on for a repeat, and perhaps the only cause for concern is that he has not had a proper race, in which a good timefigure has been required, since that day.

Terrefort and Cyrname had a good battle in the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase later on the card, with the former prevailing by a neck, and the time backs up the impression that this was smart novice form.

Terrefort gets a 151 timefigure and Cyrname, who was conceding him 3lb, a 154. That is nearly up to scratch for a JLT winner, which has averaged at 158 in recent years. The pair independently paid compliments to the form of the fast-time races they had won at Huntingdon and at Kempton on their most recent starts.

There were also good wins at Sandown for Gino Trail (144 timefigure) in a handicap chase and Topofthegame (148) in a handicap hurdle, and for Ballyoptic (148) in the Towton Novices’ Chase at Wetherby.

USEFUL

Musselburgh’s early-February Meeting punches above its weight in terms of having just one listed race and no graded contests but managing to attract a good number of useful performers.

That listed race is the Scottish Triumph Hurdle Trial, which went this year to We Have A Dream with a 141 timefigure which puts him behind only Mr Adjudicator, Farclas, Sussex Ranger and Apple’s Shakira (in that she would receive a sex allowance) among juvenile hurdlers.

It was a well-run affair (finishing speed of 97.8%), which We Have A Dream won in workmanlike rather than better style. There seems no reason to rate runner-up Act Of Valour higher than this 132 for now.

“Well run” could not be used to describe the Scottish Trial Novices’ Hurdle won by Beyond The Clouds in a timefigure of 136 and with a finishing speed of 107.3%. The leader got to the home straight around 20 lengths in arrears of We Have A Dream, and it ended up as something of a sprint finish.

In the circumstances, I would be inclined to excuse third-placed Claimantakinforgan entirely: he had previously looked most at home (including in bumpers) when the pace was a good deal more generous than here.

Other notable winning efforts were recorded by the novice Callett Mad in the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle (144 timefigure) and Marracudja in the Scottish Champion Chase Handicap (148). Incidentally, the ground at Musselburgh was softer than usual: between good to soft and soft on times, with 7mm of rain falling on the Saturday.