Watch And Learn: Graeme North timefigure analysis following Cheltenham Christmas Meeting

Star is born at Cheltenham

Nicky Henderson might have won the Gold Cup twice in three years in 2011 and 2013 with Long Run and Bob’s Worth respectively but it’s fair comment that since then nearly all the best horses he has trained have trained have all been about speed – after all, his 41 Cheltenham Festival wins since 2010 include five Champion Hurdles, five Champion Chases, five Arkles, three Supreme Novices’ and three Triumph Hurdles.

Henderson might not have quite the strength in depth he used to have - he trained a combined 11 Festival winners in 2012 and 2013 compared with only three in the last three seasons - but he’s building up a nice portfolio this time around and he looks to have another smart novice in his care in the shape of Old Park Star who won the opening race at Cheltenham’s two-day December meeting in sparkling fashion.

That he can still be backed at 16/1 for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, a race Henderson has won with Altior, Shishkin and Constitution Hill since 2010 and was placed with the likes of Buveur D’Air, Sprinter Sacre and Jonbon, is a little surprising and I’ve helped myself to some of that as not only did he put up the best performance in the race he won at Cheltenham in the past decade but his claims are substantiated by the clock.

The 139 performance rating he has been credited with is the best of the season by a novice hurdler in Britain, 4lb higher than Sticktotheplan and 7lb higher than No Drama This End, both of whom achieved their ratings in Graded company at around two-and-a-half miles (the best of the Irish so far is I’ll Sort That whose 137 was achieved at Navan).

Sticktotheplan ran a 138 timefigure at Chepstow before finding the drop back to two miles catching him out at Haydock last time, but Old Park Star’s 137 timefigure is 8lb better than anything any other novice has achieved at around two miles here and better than all bar I’ll Sort That’s 141 and Love Me Tender’s 138 in Ireland.

Helpfully, there was also a competitive handicap hurdle at Cheltenham at the same trip as Old Park Star won at just an hour later on an afternoon conditions were settled, which was won by Fortune De Mer, a horse who had been highlighted in this column a few weeks ago as a fair bit better than his Ascot run and who is currently ante-post favourite for the County Hurdle.

Tracking data available from the Racing TV website shows that Old Park Star not only got to a mile from home just under three seconds faster than Fortune De Mer but on top of that then also covered the last mile faster too and was just 0.09 seconds away from running the last two furlongs faster as well, all while carrying 3lb more. All that coverts into a 22lb faster performance on the clock, no mean feat considering that Fortune De Mer, a horse who is ridden for a turn of foot, is now rated 130p by Timeform.

Don't judge Fever on Naas defeat

Willie Mullins’ last two Supreme winners, Kopek Des Bordes and Klassical Dream, both made their seasonal debuts in a two-mile maiden at Leopardstown on Boxing Day, so it will be interesting to see what he runs that race this year, but one horse already out and long touted for the Supreme but now removed from that market is last season’s Champion Bumper winner Bambino Fever who lost her unbeaten record in a mares' maiden hurdle at Naas on Monday.

She showed easily the best turn of foot in the steadily-run Champion Bumper where she had No Drama This End and Fortune De Mer among others behind despite taking a wider course than pretty much anything else apart from her stable-companion Sortudo (who won his reappearance over two miles but is being talked about as a possible for the Albert Bartlett) and it’s fair to suggest Naas isn’t the race to judge her on, beaten by one with race fitness on her side from a stable in flying form on ground that may well have been softer than she’s at her best on.

In all honesty, the racing last weekend and not just at Cheltenham wasn’t of the quality you might expect (two horses who finished second at Lingfield’s Saturday meeting were racing off marks of just 67 and 73 which is not what the sport’s showcase afternoon should be about) but the ‘Chasing Excellence’ novice chase attracted three promising horses and provided a proper test too, run at a strong gallop that saw the winner Sixmilebridge post a 151 timefigure which is the joint second highest in the division either here or in Ireland this season, 6lb below the 157 Nicky Henderson’s Lulamba achieved in the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown the previous week.

Just how strong a gallop they went is illustrated by a time comparison with the veterans chase later in the afternoon – despite the small field, they covered the first mile-and-a-half five seconds faster than the veterans - around 25 lengths on the prevailing ground, which was faster than officially given - and then motored through the next half a mile almost a second and a half faster (around seven lengths) too before coming home up the hill in slow motion.

Lack of a recent outing probably took its toll in the circumstances (he didn’t jump two out well) on the favourite Califet En Vol, but Sixmilebridge is clearly a very smart novice in his own right and not to be underestimated as his eight-and-a-half length defeat of Potters Charm at Cheltenham last year before disqualification suggested.

As a matter of interest, Lulamba’s 157 timefigure also came on the back of a very strong pace forced by runner-up Be Aware that saw Lulamba cover the first mile or so over eight seconds faster than Il Etait Temps later in the afternoon in the Tingle Creek before the latter started to claw back some of the deficit from a mile out, albeit not really eating into Lulamba’s time advantage significantly and despite having gone less hard early on not even managing to run the final furlong faster.

That’s a very tall standard for Kopek Des Bordes and Romeo Coolio to match, though the former did run a 159 when winning the Supreme last year when Romeo Coolio, who looks a bit short in the Arkle market to me at 4/1, was seven lengths back in third.

The time wasn’t quick – the winning timefigure was just 88 – but there was plenty to like about the performance of Carlenrig in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle on Saturday.

Having caught the eye on his debut at Chepstow when not given anything like a hard time, the step up to three miles looked sure to suit him considering the manner in which he had cleared away when winning his point to point at Hexham but he only just edged home in a race where the last half mile ended up being run at a much quicker time than either of the two other hurdles on the day contested at much shorter distances. Runner-up They Call Me Hugo actually ran the fastest last furlong by two lengths or so, arguably looking unlucky, but given the third Conman John wasn’t asked to set the same sort of tempo he had when winning here earlier in the autumn this probably isn’t form to be taking too literally and looks some way short of the ‘real Albert Bartlett’ level.

Another horse who was disadvantaged by being held up at Cheltenham on Saturday was Jagwar, on what was his reappearance finished third in the December Gold Cup behind the rank outsider and front-running Glengouly. Still plenty to do entering the straight, he ran the fastest last half mile of any horses over fences on the afternoon which included both the fastest final and penultimate furlongs of the day.

Bumpers don’t often get a mention in this column, but it was hard not to be impressed by the turn of foot shown by Oh My Word in the steadily-run Listed Future Champions contest at Navan on Sunday. The race has certainly lived up to its name having been won by the likes of Sir Gerhard, Envoi Allen and Samcro in recent years and Oh My Word would surely be a much shorter price than the 16/1 still available for that race if he was trained by someone more widely known than Thomas Cleary.

The Irish handler is clearly a sharp operator having trained Great Attitude to land a monster gamble on debut at Fairyhouse back in February, and like that one this one may yet change hands and go elsewhere. All three of the horses behind him had won in bumpers including strong favourite Panjandrum but having witnessed him labouring to a point win over two and a half miles in heavy ground at Chaddersly Corbett last December when looking in need of even further, perhaps it wasn’t the greatest surprise he was left for dead by a much speedier type over a bare two miles.

Finally, one horse very much on the upgrade this season and yet another from the Skelton yard is Chuggy who landed his third race of the season at Warwick last week in one of the best timefigures of the week, 132. It’s not often you see such an economical round of jumping – for what it’s worth, Racing TV’s Lengths Gained Jumping measure had him saving nine lengths more than his nearest rival on that metric - and though he had previous experience over fences unlike the three that followed him home, he deserves his chance in a much better handicap before long. Connections will now doubt be hoping that his half-brother The New Lion jumps just as well when next seen out!

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