THE pre-Cheltenham action was sparser than it might have been, with Sandown’s big card last Saturday called off due to waterlogging. But there were a fair few performances of note, abroad and nearer to home, and on the flat as well as over jumps. The highlight of Wolverhampton’s Saturday card was the listed win of last year’s Greenham third and Guineas eighth Urban Icon, who ran to about 107 on form in beating Documenting by three quarters of a length, though a messy pace meant that the bare time came out at only 92.

There had been a remarkable win at Dundalk the evening before for Sceptical under a big weight in the five-furlong handicap by six and a half lengths, the Denis Hogan-trained gelding now having won three of his four starts and rated 114 after this one.

Tuesday week’s Navan meeting saw a most authoritative win from Sizing Pottsie in the Grade 3 Flyingbolt Novice Chase by 12 lengths and 13 from the useful pair Cut The Mustard and Ten Ten, a 151-rated performance that was backed up fully by the time. The winner looks destined for better things.

The similar contest at Naas last Sunday was a more muddling affair, with less than a length separating the first four and a couple beaten in handicaps in amongst them. Royal Rendezvous came out on top, just, and even after upgrading this looks no better than a 133 effort on time. Cappuccimix was an impressive winner of the beginners’ chase that opened the card by 11 lengths (the same margin by which Chosen Mate had beaten him the time before) and earned himself a 141 timefigure in the process.

Energumene did the job well in a maiden hurdle at Gowran (139 figure) and Cedarwood Road battled well to come out best of some promising types in the listed novice hurdle at Naas (140).

It is worth calling out some above-average bumper winners also, not least the well-touted point winner Bob Olinger, who put up a 125 performance in the mud at Gowran. Smurphy Enki (128) at Wincanton and Bear Ghylls (129) at Warwick won by even further and were backed up more obviously by the clock.

Meydan

Meydan’s meeting last Saturday was somewhat underwhelming given its billing, and Barney Roy (115 timefigure) and Matterhorn (114) won weak Group 1s in the wider scheme of things. It is good to see the former back to approaching his best (was second in the Eclipse in 2017) but most of his opposition here was merely listed/Group 3 calibre.

As it is, the best raw time performance on the card came from the erstwhile ordinary Wildman Jack, who broke the 1200-metre turf record in coming home clear in a Group 3, a scarcely believable effort which weighs in at a 118 figure.

In the US, Authentic did his Kentucky Derby hopes plenty of good (he is now second favourite for that) in winning the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita with a 115 performance.