THERE is nothing quite like the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival. It’s when the talking ends, or is temporarily suspended at least, and the action takes over. There is usually something for everyone, and that includes for the growing band of time analysts in the sport.

There is often a big time performance or two to enthuse over, perhaps in the Champion Hurdle itself. This year, it came in the Arkle Chase instead, and by my reckoning it represents one of the time efforts of recent years. A comparison with Wednesday’s Queen Mother Champion Chase will appear in next week’s Time Will Tell, along with analysis of the action from Wednesday onwards.