THE 2018 Cheltenham Festival is likely to have been a mixed bag for anyone using time analysis. There were some notable setbacks – Samcro never looked like getting beaten and Saint Calvados never looked like winning, for starters – but anyone who kept the faith through to the final day was rewarded with a Triumph Hurdle one-two that looked perfectly obvious, if seemingly not to the general public.

Mr Adjudicator had beaten Farclas in a very fast time in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown to ensure that the pair led the juvenile hurdling division comfortably going into the Festival. On this occasion, it was the other way round, but again the time was fast: 1.8s quicker than Mohaayed managed when carrying 3lbs less to victory in the County Handicap Hurdle.