ALL-weather racing in Britain and Ireland has come a long way over the years, with Newcastle’s tapeta surface the latest to host a group contest, the six-furlong Chipchase Stakes last Saturday.

Every new or relaid synthetic surface represents an opportunity for the time analyst prepared to make a few estimates and adjust them quickly in the light of new evidence.

Some authorities prefer to wait for a considerable historical record before coming up with standard times and timefigures, and there can be a deficit in understanding as a result.

I made the Chipchase winner, Markaz, worthy of a 109 timefigure, with progressive handicapper Orion’s Bow even faster (110 timefigure) for winning the previous evening’s Gosforth Park Cup.

However, possibly the most interesting figures came from the Northumberland Vase and the Northumberland Plate, run within 35 minutes of each other on Saturday.

Given the abilities and weights carried of the respective winners, you might expect the Plate winner Antiquarium to record a time around 1.27s quicker than the Vase winner Dannyday, but the difference was 1.04s the other way.

Some of that is down to pace (the Vase was more truly-run) but the comparison still reflects well on Dannyday, whose timefigure of 106 and power-packed finish suggests he will be winning in listed or lesser group staying company sooner rather than later.