THESE are early days, but there may be few better beginners’ chases in the whole season than the one won by Laurina from Minella Indo at Gowran last Saturday, both of them past Cheltenham Festival winners.

They ran pretty fast against the clock, as well, with Laurina 2.5s (at least 10 lengths) quicker than Getabird was in the preceding Carlow Chase, a differential she more or less sustained from five out.