SCEAU Royal’s 161 timefigure was the best winning one across the three days at Cheltenham, but plenty of other solid figures were posted in other races, including in defeat.

Only a length covered the first four home in the novice chase won by Count Meribel from Le Breuil on the Friday, but that was not indicative of a false pace: far from it.

The first two get timefigures of 144, while Mr Whipped (138), Jenkins (143) and the faller White Moon (140) all look to have good futures.

With only two hurdle races on the Friday, assessments over the smaller obstacles are less confident than usual, but the time registered by Coolanly in winning the Grade 2 novice looks rather disappointing. His timefigure of 121, despite a reasonably true pace, suggests this may have been a weak renewal.

The two big handicap chases on the Saturday were well-run affairs which resulted in solid overall times.

Rock The Kasbah posted a 152 timefigure in winning the Bet Victor Handicap in workmanlike fashion (Coneygree showed there was plenty of life left in him yet with a 159 performance under top-weight in third).

Only six of the 18 runners completed in the Bet Victor Gold Cup, and Baron Alco was always in the van in running a 149 figure to prevail. Even better came from runner-up Frodon under a big weight, with his timefigure of 162 second only to 170-rated Road To Respect among chasers so far this season.

The other chase on Saturday was a falser affair, and Ibis Du Rheu managed only a 121 timefigure in quite a tight finish. Third-placed The Worlds End (123 here), a classy stayer over hurdles, was keeping on again at the death and can probably be forgiven this defeat in the circumstances.

The opening juvenile hurdle, won by Quel Destin, produced a poor overall time (108 timefigure and several seconds slower than the bumper) and a closer inspection of the sectionals hints at why. Third-placed Never Adapt did too much up front and seemed to suck others into going too fast, too.

Either way, the finish was pedestrian: some 15 lengths slower from three out than all other hurdle races on the last two days, and Never Adapt’s “rallying” was not all it seemed. This form is not to be trusted.

IMPRESSIVE

First Assignment was highly impressive in winning the listed staying handicap hurdle, but a slow overall time (worth a timefigure of just 67) and fast finish shows that the bare form might prove unreliable.

The handicap-hurdle wins of Palmers Hill and Nietzsche (in the Greatwood Hurdle) on the Sunday came in much more satisfactory contests, in which the timefigures of 124 and 131 respectively pretty closely reflect those horses’ abilities.

But the same cannot be said of the Grade 2 novice hurdle won from the front by Elixir De Nutz with the fastest closing sectional over hurdles of the meeting but one of the worst overall timefigures of 120.

The bumper wins of The Glancing Queen on Saturday and Master Debonair on Sunday both resulted in timefigures of 105, some way below what might be hoped for in listed company.