Our Racing Podcast team reflect on one of last weekend's star performers and consider where it leaves us regarding the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Gordon Elliott was reaching for the superlatives after Brighterdaysahead maintained her unbeaten record at Navan on Sunday and she's since been all the rage for the Cheltenham Festival, where she is set to clash with Willie Mullins' Jade De Grugy and the big home hope, Dysart Enos from the yard of Fergal O'Brien.
But how do our panel see the Festival race unfolding and could Brighterdaysahead be on her way to the very top?
Timeform's Billy Nash said: "It's easy to pick holes in her form because I'm not sure she has beaten an awful lot of consequence, but it's very hard to crab her because she's turned up to the racecourse five times, and she's been really impressive on five occasions.
"She absolutely looks a class apart. She's a half sister, of course, to Caldwell Potter and Mighty Potter, so she has the breeding, she has the looks, and she was really impressive again last weekend.
"Now, the one thing about last weekend, it was two miles and five on heavy ground at Navan and she absolutely powered up the hill. So dropping back to two miles on what I'd imagine will be quicker ground at Cheltenham might not be ideal for. But either way she's a Grade 1 winner in waiting, this mare. She's very good and we're going to hear loads more about her."
Ben Linfoot said: "The best from Britain looks to be the Fergal O'Brien-trained mare, Dysart Enos. She's put together a terrific winning sequence and looked so good last time at Doncaster, albeit at prohibitive odds.
"But I think that's the same for all of these mares really, you saw Brighterdaysahead winning at 1/3 at the weekend and they just look better than their contemporaries.
"It's when we get them all together in the mares' novice that we're going to find out, and there's Jade De Grugy for Willie Mullins, too, she's done it over two miles and two furlongs last time in Grade 3 company. So for me, she probably just edges it with the trip in mind, bearing in mind what Billy said, but I think they're three good mares and I can't wait to see them race against each other."
Graham Cunningham isn't sure which horse is most likely to come out on top, partly because they've enjoyed such easy routes to the Festival.
He said: "That's part of the problem now, with this multitude of opportunities at the Festival, that pretty good horses - very bright prospects even - can get there without being almost remotely tested.
"Currently, you have Brighterdaysahead, Jade De Grugy and Dysart Enos, and they really haven't come off the bridle in in any meaningful way. So you're just guessing how much is in the locker when they're finally asked to compete in a really competitive race, and I find it tricky to assess because they've all been very impressive in different ways.
"I agree with what Billy said - physically, Brighterdaysahead looks the type of horse who should be around in pretty good races for quite a while, I think."
Cunningham also commented on the decision, from trainer Paul Nicholls and the horse's new owners, to swerve Cheltenham altogether this season with Caldwell Potter, who is a half-brother to the aforementioned Brighterdaysahead.
He said: "He's the €740,000, world record NH purchase and I completely get their decision to take their time. I'm just wondering why nobody said to Paul Nicholls, what do you mean by 'acclimatise'? The climate's pretty similar in Somerset to Ireland.
"Now, if he said 'I'll expand: it's a different regime, I need to see him school, I need to get a feel for what is his optimum distance etc, I need to hear from his work rider' then 100%. But you use one word like acclimatise then I hoped somebody might ask 'what do you mean by that', because I'm not exactly sure.
"I have an idea what he might mean by that, but I'm not certain. Either way they've mentioned the dreaded words 'Gold Cup' already. So the stakes have been raised for Caldwell Potter."
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