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Shishkin went into the Betfair Ascot Chase with something to prove - he was pulled up in the Champion Chase and finished a distant third in the Tingle Creek on his reappearance - but, after being given a wind op, fitted with a tongue tie and stepped up in trip by around five furlongs, he roared back to his best on Saturday, slamming Pic d'Orhy by 16 lengths with last year's winner Fakir d'Oudairies, who was admittedly below his best, seven lengths further back in third.
That was a performance of similar merit to the one Shishkin produced when beating Energumene in a race for the ages in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot last January and has seen him regain his status as Timeform's highest-rated horse in training with a figure of 179.
With Allaho ruled out of the Cheltenham Festival, Shishkin will enjoy a clear edge on ratings over his Ryanair Chase rivals and is 12 lb clear of Blue Lord.
Should connections have a change of heart and decide to have a crack at the Cheltenham Gold Cup there would be little separating Shishkin, Galopin des Champs (178p) and A Plus Tard (177) on the figures.
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Springwell Bay had shaped as if in need of the experience and a longer trip when third in the Grade 2 Sky Bet Supreme Trial over two miles at Cheltenham's November meeting and he duly relished the three-furlong longer trip at Ascot on Saturday, winning a valuable novice in the style of an exciting prospect.
Springwell Bay quickened up well soon after the second-last to brush aside a couple of previously unbeaten hurdlers, pulling clear on the run in to score by nine and a half lengths.
That earned Springwell Bay a rating of 139p, a figure which places him on the border of the 20 highest-rated novice hurdlers, and there should be more to come now that his stamina is being tapped into. He doesn't hold any entries in the Grade 1 novice hurdles at Cheltenham but would be worth his place in a race such as the Mersey - or even the Sefton over three miles - at Aintree.
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Greatwood Hurdle winner I Like To Move It disappointed in the Relkeel Hurdle over two and a half miles on New Year's Day but, back at two miles, he returned to form at Wincanton on Saturday, posting his best effort yet when running away with the Kingwell Hurdle.
I Like To Move It was ultimately presented with a straightforward opportunity as Knappers Hill and First Street were both below their best, but a good time backs up the visual impression he created in storming 17 lengths clear and suggests he produced an effort bordering on high-class.
A rating of 158 means he'll be worth his place in the Champion Hurdle, and while it's difficult to see him threatening Constitution Hill (177p) or State Man (166p) he does have a chance of hitting the frame. For context, Vauban is rated 159p.
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Brighterdaysahead, the €310,000 top lot at the 2022 Derby Sale, is a half-sister to four winners, including Mighty Potter and French Dynamite, and she looked like an exciting prospect herself when making a winning debut at Gowran Park on Saturday.
Brighterdaysahead, the 2/1 second favourite, didn't face as stiff a test as may have been expected as her Gordon Elliott-trained stablemate Why Delilah and Willie Mullins' unraced favourite Iris Emery were both pulled-up, but she still ran out an impressive winner.
Always travelling strongly, Brighterdaysahead eased clear after hitting the front inside the final couple of furlongs, passing the post with a 13-length advantage. That earned her a Timeform rating of 106p, a figure that only two mares - Fun Fun Fun (111p) and Queens Gamble (109) - have bettered in the bumper division so far this season.
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There was also a significant performance in the bumper at Punchestown on Sunday as Ballyburn made a winning debut to enter the equation for Cheltenham.
Irish Panther set a good standard based on his runner-up effort behind Fact To File (who was subsequently second in the Grade 2 at the Dublin Racing Festival) at Leopardstown, but he was unable to cope with a couple of promising newcomers.
Gordon Elliott's Quantum Storm shaped with plenty of promise in second, but Willie Mullins' Ballyburn - a winner of his only start in points - looked an exciting prospect as he swept two and a quarter lengths clear, showing good speed for one with so much stamina in his pedigree (he's a brother to the very smart Noble Endeavor).
That earned Ballyburn a Timeform rating of 108p, which puts him just outside the top ten highest-rated runners in the division this season. He achieved less on debut than stablemate It's For Me (113p), but still ran to a high figure for one on their first start and is clearly open to plenty of improvement. John Kiely's Dublin Racing Festival winner A Dream To Share (121) sets the standard in the division.
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