I now see that at Leopardstown, the chase course is on the outside of the 1m 6f flat course whereas at Newbury the chase course runs inside the two mile flat course.

The runners actually take a bit longer to reach the winning post on the first circuit at Leopardstown than they do at Newbury, so the course is actually a few yards bigger – about 1m 7f.

In any event Bobs Worth won the Lexus in his usual style, coming with a strong late rally after being flat to the boards at one stage. His ability to rally multiple times in a race is a great asset on giant galloping courses or tracks with steep undulations.

To date he's won all eight times he's run on such courses. He's lost all three times he's run in pattern company on tracks 1m 6f or less in circumference without steep undulations.

On this occasion the clock suggests that Bobs Worth didn't run to his very best despite beating a decent field. I've adjusted for the fact that the pace was a little bit slow until the second last but this still only produces a rating for Bobs Worth that's just solid Grade 2 class.

The early pace was slow enough to hurt the final time and it meant the entire field were separated by just three lengths jumping the second last. However it is the very fact that the pace tends to vary more on giant ovals and on undulating courses that makes Bobs Worth so hard to beat on them.

So I wouldn't put the varying pace forward as an excuse for what I rated a sub-par effort. All I can say is that he did win and was going away quite impressively at the finish.

The plan now apparently is to not give Bobs Worth another run between now and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Personally I'd have had a shot at the Hennessy with him as well. However, the stats suggest that the fewer runs the better as far as the Gold Cup is concerned.

Sixteen of the last 17 Cheltenham Gold Cup winners had run 13 or fewer times over fences, won at least half their completed starts over the bigger jumps and had reached the first three in a Grade 1 chase.

The wider variations in pace possible on bigger courses do not seem to suit runner-up First Lieutenant (35-pace adjusted 40) as well as the winner. He would have won all four times he's run on chase courses less than 12 furlongs in circumference if one short head photo had gone his way. He's lost all 13 times he's run over fences on bigger courses.

First Lieutenant raced in second place most of the way and jumped really well. He took a narrow lead at the last but was readily outpaced by the winner on the run in.

He's now run second in six Grade 1 chases and will always be vulnerable to a horse with a better change of gears on galloping courses like this one.

Recent French import Rubi Ball (34-pace adjusted 39) attempted to make all the running. He benefited from being gifted a fairly soft lead but kept on nicely for third despite making a couple of jumping errors.

Rubi Ball has now lost 11 times in a row but would probably have won two of his most recent three previous starts instead of losing in photos but for a couple of scrappy jumps.

However this was a very decent run and it's quite possible he'll be able to do a little better once he gets used to the different style of jumps in Ireland and Britain.

Fourth-placed Sir Des Champs (32-pace adjusted 37) was effectively having his first race in over 10 months due to tipping up early on his reappearance.

He simply blew up through lack of fitness after racing prominently throughout.

Sir Des Champs has grown and strengthened since last season and he would have been a big player in the Gold Cup, but for his recent injury.