THE ground on the hurdles track at Gowran Park last Thursday week was the most testing I have ever recorded judged on times. Whereas racing often gets called off once a going allowance gets above 450 (the rating a horse needs to run to equal my standard time carrying 12st 7lb in a well-run race), this came in at 530.

Still, it was raceable, if exceptionally testing, and the runners in the Grade 2 John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle may take a while to recover from averaging well over 18.0s per furlong.

Sams Profile emerged victorious by half a length from Diol Ker and the pair are now rated 149 and 148.

The surface was not quite so slow on the chase track (just the 397 going allowance) and Coko Beach managed a sprightly 17.4s per furlong in winning with a 148 figure.

Supporters of Al Boum Photo might have hoped for a bit more from Acapella Bourgeois (second to him at Tramore) than a well-held fifth, albeit under top weight.

Versatile Bachasson

Naas last Sunday was not exactly a stroll in the park, with a going allowance around the 350 mark (still very much heavy), but it troubled Bachasson not one bit as the versatile 10-year-old made all in the Grade 3 Limestone Lad Hurdle.

His time was fastest of three at the shortened two miles by over 10.0s, and his performance could end up being under-valued. I have both him and runner-up Grand Roi on 148, with Beacon Edge a bit below his form at longer trips on 146.

Eklat De Rire got the run of things from the front to a degree when winning the Grade 3 Naas Racecourse Business Club Novice Chase later on the card but can still have a basic 143 figure upped to 150 on sectionals. Escaria Ten (148) and Pencilfulloflead (151) ran pretty well to fill the places.

Billaway ran the extended three miles 6.3s slower in winning the Naas Hunters Chase but was carrying a stone more and comes out at a healthy enough 135 rating.

Mr Incredible (136) did nothing special on the clock in winning the second division of the maiden hurdle but paid a further compliment to Gaillard Du Mesnil, who had beaten him handsomely at Leopardstown over Christmas.

The latter is now rated 147, behind only Appreciate It (153) and Bob Olinger (151) among Irish-trained novice hurdlers. Mr Hendricks was the pick of the winners at Navan on the Friday, running to 140 in beating the rallying Lord Royal (139) by three quarters of a length in a beginners’ chase.

Navan also saw a pretty good bumper winner in the Gordon Elliott-trained Three Stripe Life, who gets a figure of 129 for winning in the same colours as carried by Eskylane 12 months earlier.

Noble Yeats had looked even better when winning by 19 lengths (and in a much faster time than the other division) at Thurles two days earlier for Emmett Mullins, a 134-rated effort that has him behind only Sir Gerhard (145) and Gerri Colombe (136) on my bumper figures.