TEA For Two’s win can be compared with that of Might Bite in the Friday at Aintree’s Mildmay Novices’ Chase but only if adjustment is made for rail movements (the Bowl was run over slightly further) and a minor quickening in the ground in the 24 hours between the two races. Might Bite ran 4.1s quicker but comes out fractionally lower on timefigures at 164.

That is, nonetheless, a very large figure for a novice chaser in the normal scheme of things, if surpassed by both Altior (170) and Thistlecrack (166) in what has proved to be a vintage season. Whisper (162 timefigure) might well lead the way in an ordinary campaign.