FOOTPAD’s average speed in seconds per furlong when winning the Arkle Chase was 15.22, whereas all other chase winners on the card were well over 16.0.

That is a big discrepancy, even after the different overall distances are allowed for, and it means that none of those other races was especially fast.

Rathvinden comes out best for winning the National Hunt Chase by half a length from Ms Parfois, the pair getting timefigures of 147 and 140 respectively.

It proved a gruelling contest, with Rathvinden unsteady on his feet for a while afterwards, but the race sectional from the third-last was similar to the other two handicaps, both at shorter, which implies the pace was not especially strong.

Rathvinden has been a mainstay of the Irish novice chasing division this season and briefly led it on time with the same 147 figure before the even bigger guns came along.

Coo Star Sivola did not run especially fast in winning the Ultima Handicap Chase (128 timefigure) but can almost certainly perform to around 150, or possibly higher, when circumstances allow.

He was several lengths slower than the other chase winners up the run-in (20.1s for about 245 yards) through a combination of idling and having gone for home plenty far enough out.

Mister Whitaker seemed to benefit from being delivered late when winning the Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase by a head from Rather Be, a rather stop-start contest in which the runners overdid things a bit between four out and three out (completed about four lengths quicker than the leader in the Arkle Chase at shorter).

The third-placed Rocklander, who was the one pressing on most at that juncture, seemed to do well the way things unfolded through the race.