TWO races run over the same course and distance – in close chronological proximity, and with one of them a well-run handicap – is the kind of scenario time analysts appreciate. That was the situation with the Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle and the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle on day two of this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

The winner of the former, Supasundae, ran the course 4.9s quicker than the winner of the latter, Willoughby Court, when something close to parity might have been expected. Supasundae proved himself a smart horse here, but he is not better than that, and the time comparison essentially reflects poorly on the novice race.

A timefigure of 156 for Supasundae means one of just 132 for Willoughby Court, who received a peach of a ride from the front from David Bass.

Sectional comparisons between the two races show just what a soft lead Willoughby Court got, especially early on: he jumped the third 5.0s (over 20 lengths) in arrears of the leader of the Coral Cup and was as much as 6.6s behind by the fifth.

Even then, Willoughby Court ran a bit slower than the principals in the Coral Cup from two out and from the last, having made up some of the deficit prior to that.

I will need some convincing that these novices are a good bunch, though the runner-up to Willoughby Court, Neon Wolf, could easily be the exception. He ran a bit freely with the pace so steady but still looked the likeliest winner until seeming to lack experience and fluffing the last, beaten just a head at the line.

Neon Wolf had a 152 timefigure to his name from Haydock, but this was the first proper battle he had been in. There is every chance he will prove the best of these, and possibly by some way.

Incidentally, Supasundae had come up short against Sutton Place in graded races on his two most recent starts and paid a compliment to that Gordon Elliott-trained gelding while suggesting he is worth another chance at that sort of level himself.