SO Smad Place is on track now for the Gold Cup after his win in the BetBright Trial Chase at Cheltenham last Saturday. And that is as it should be.

All the talk of the Ryanair Chase was strange anyway. Alan King’s horse is a stayer. He finished third in the World Hurdle in 2012 as a five-year-old and he finished third in the World Hurdle again in 2013 as a six-year-old. The first race that he won over fences was a three-mile chase at Exeter in November 2013, and he was beaten a neck by O’Faolains Boy in the RSA Chase later than season.