HONEYSUCKLE (155) was the star attraction on Sunday and, although she was not at her best on the clock, the unbeaten superstar mare brought the crowd to their feet as she strolled to a third successive Grade 1 Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle.

Dominant

Galopin Des Champs (172) provided the spectacular performance of the day on the clock with a dominant display of galloping and jumping at speed which even put his powerhouse stablemate Chacun Pour Soi (172) in the shade.

A quick glance at the overall race time comparison against Birchdale (143) is the first evidence of how fast the son of Timos had covered the extended two-mile-five-furlong trip in the novice chase, the differential in time being 7.2secs.

In a similar move to when winning at the Christmas meeting, Paul Townend allowed Galopin Des Champs his head at the two fences going away from the stands where he produced two exhilarating leaps on his way to covering the sectional to the first fence in the back straight in 47.9secs.

Chacun Pour Soi went through the same checkpoint in 48.6secs with Blackbow (135) leading the handicap chase in clocking 48.3secs. The back straight saw Chacun Pour Soi quicken and move ahead of the handicap without making any ground on the chase field who continued to hang onto the coat tails of the Willie Mullins-trained youngster who once again displayed an extravagant technique at his fences.

Fastest

The Dublin Chase winner was the fastest through the closing sectional as the graded performers maintained their pace all the way to the line while the handicap chasers slowed considerably. The relevant data for the sectional is Chacun Pour Soi 87.8secs, Galopin Des Champs 88.2secs and Birchdale 93.4secs.

A similar performance by Chacun Pour Soi at Cheltenham would add further spice to an already vindaloo-hot Queen Mother Champion Chase. Judged on Willie Mullins’s post-race comments, it is a distinct possibility and, while the test may be sterner in the middle of the race at Cheltenham, if the son of Policy Maker finishes to the same effect, he will present serious opposition to both Shishkin and stablemate Energumene.

As for Galopin Des Champs, a clash with Bob Olinger would be spectacular as his bold jumping, front-running approach is the ideal run style for Cheltenham’s New Course.

Sir Gerhard stands out with fast finish

ON Sunday the standout performer against the stopwatch was Sir Gerhard (155), and I would also highlight the opening mares’ contest as a race worth revisiting.

There was more than one version of Sir Gerhard’s overall race time in the immediate aftermath of the race with at least one showing Sir Gerhard to be around 4secs faster than Honeysuckle. However, having hand-timed the race, the difference was more like 0.5secs. Whichever time was used, the time-figure of both races must be brought in line with the performance of Party Central (140) who was on a par with Grade 1 races when adjusted for distance due to the early stages of the high-profile contests being slowly run in comparison.

Tracking the four hurdle races from the hurdle in front of the stands to the second flight on the circuit shows the leaders in the mares’ race, Brides Hill and Minx Tiara (130), to have covered the ground in 49.3secs, 3.7secs ahead of Heaven Help Us and 3.8secs quicker than Sir Gerhard who made his own running.

The handicap field went through the section in 50.8secs to confirm the slower pace in the Grade 1 races.

There was no considerable difference between the Champion Hurdle field and either of the handicaps down the back straight, and the pace lifted in the Grade 1 Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle as Sir Gerhard completed his section to the third last hurdle 1.5secs quicker than the other three races. The conclusion of the races is where the class of the graded contestants shone through as Sir Gerhard finished off his race in 88.5secs and Honeysuckle in 88.6secs.

Call Me Lyreen (146) posted 91.9secs when adjusted for missing the second last hurdle and recorded a slightly quicker home sectional than Party Central who stopped the clock at 92.1secs.

Three Stripe Life (149) completed his race in 89.3secs giving the impression he will improve further for stepping up in trip.