THE presence of four hurdles and one bumper, all at a shortened two miles on the Sunday card at Naas, made time analysis there easier than is sometimes the case. According to my stopwatch, Jason The Militant was the fastest winner over hurdles but fractionally behind Farouk D’Alene in the bumper.

That is not to say that the former was especially fast in the context of the race he contested being a Grade 2, though a timefigure of 139 is respectable. Sectionals show that it was a slightly tactical affair, with a 105% finishing speed (so it finished 5% quicker than the average speed for the race overall). It was by just a nose that Jason The Militant denied Beacon Edge (also 139), with Andy Dufresne (140) and Mt Leinster (134) below form in third and fourth, especially the latter.