THERE was not a huge amount to get excited about in time terms outside Cue Card’s and Sire De Grugy’s performances over the two days at Haydock and Ascot, though Royal Regatta turned in a smart effort when just hanging on from Kylemore Lough (both get 158 timefigures) in a strongly-run Stella Artois Chase on the latter course.

That strong pace found out third-placed God’s Own at this trip of two miles and five furlongs, added to which he was conceding weight to those who beat him, and he emerges with a respectable 160 time performance himself.

Yanworth ran a 150 timefigure in winning the Coral Hurdle on the same card from Lil Rockefeller (153), who was conceding weight, and was less than impressive on the face of it. However, sectionals show that this was not much of a test (it was slower early on than a maiden hurdle on the previous day), and Yanworth may still fulfil the high hopes held for him.

The pace was even more pedestrian in relative terms in the Betfair Price Rush Hurdle over at Haydock, with Ch’tibello proving best equipped for the sprint to the line.

His timefigure comes out at a distinctly modest 94, though the situation is complicated by this race having been the only one run on the flat track.

Messy though the contest undoubtedly was, there was not a lot of encouragement to be derived from those sectionals for the beaten horses My Tent Or Yours and Old Guard, both of whom were at least 20lb below form: both of them were significantly slower than the winner when it mattered.