THERE are still some people who maintain that time analysis does not matter in horseracing, let alone in jumps racing, though it would be nice to think that their numbers have diminished as a result of some of the events in the last 12 months or so.

If you cast your mind back to a year ago, when Thistlecrack won the King George VI Chase and Might Bite would have won the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on the same card, it is extraordinary to think that one commentator described it as “picky” to point out that the latter would have been much quicker than the former over the same distance but for falling at the final fence.