Timefigure debrief: Fairyhouse, Lingfield and Meydan

The latest running of the rather grandly-titled All-Weather Championships at Lingfield on Good Friday was lifted by the French, who saddled only a tiny proportion of the runners yet won three races. Of the three winners, the aptly-named Lucky Team recorded the best timefigure (113) in the Mile, but more impressive visually in posting a 112 timefigure was City Light, who was the only runner on the card to post a form rating in excess of 120 when running down an unusually-sluggish-at-the-start Kachy in the Sprint.

City Light ran the final two furlongs in near enough 22.4 seconds but had run quicker – around 22.0 after converting metres to yards – when scoring in good style on his previous start at Chantilly, beating subsequent Godolphin Mile fifth Rosa Imperial, and is clearly very smart. The French success will hopefully encourage a greater challenge from Ireland next season, but the all-weather winter programme in France is still in its infancy so it would be no surprise if their challenge was stronger still next year, too.

Rapid! City Light wins the All-Weather Sprint Championships at @LingfieldPark 🏇💨

Tune in to @ITV4 now for LIVE racing #AWChamps pic.twitter.com/gZHUD0jxPO

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 30, 2018

In the immediate aftermath of Thunder Snow’s defeat of West Coast in the Dubai World Cup, there was no shortage of praise for the winner from those present, but whether the performance is worth all it seems, or how much bearing it will have on future events elsewhere this year, is questionable. The advantage of being in front on the rail at Meydan on the dirt has been evident to most for some time and Thunder Snow himself had been comprehensively beaten on his previous outing when unable to secure the rail.

Whether Thunder Snow would confirm the form with the Pegasus World Cup second West Coast on a level dirt field elsewhere has to be doubtful, despite his five-length or so winning margin, and a provisional timefigure of 121 against a form rating of 126 for the performance rather confirms as much.

For the same reasons, it’s hard to be confident that the 127 ‘form’ rating awarded to Mendelssohn for his 18-length romp in the UAE Derby accurately represents his ability, but both his overall time and sectional times suggests he is worth that figure. His participation will add an abnormally intriguing element to this year’s Kentucky Derby, though it’s worth noting that if he is to make the running as he did here – though there is no guarantee he needs to - he’ll have to run the first quartile-mile a couple of seconds faster against much better opposition than he had to at Meydan. Circumstance rather than lack of ability will probably be his biggest adversary at Churchill Downs.  

Much as had been the case at the Dublin Festival, the British challenge at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival was a negligible one and those that did try their luck fared no better, as Gordon Elliot and Willie Mullins continued their personal battle for the champion trainer title. From a timefigure perspective, the first day was rather unexceptional with neither of the two graded hurdles races over two and a half miles being run much quicker at any stage than the ordinary handicap that preceded them; indeed, neither Laurina (117) nor Pallasator (129) were notably impressive and Laurina was only beating horses she had beaten at Cheltenham anyway.

She's very good - Laurina shows her class to land the opening Grade 1 at @Fairyhouse... pic.twitter.com/OewOEvJVJg

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) April 1, 2018

Al Boum Photo (146) had Cheltenham winners Shattered Love and The Storyteller behind in the Ryanair Gold Cup Novice Chase, but even his performance (at what might be his best distance) is more of a compliment to Presenting Percy, who was cantering all over him when Al Boum Photo fell two out in the RSA.

The ground at Fairyhouse was considerably worse on the second day – the third was abandoned unsurprisingly - but still produced a number of thrilling races. As we said in our Cheltenham preview, Getabird might yet be the good horse his reputation suggests and hopefully he’ll get the chance to show as much at the upcoming Punchestown Festival, but his timefigure (140) on the back of an uncontested lead again was no better than he has posted before.

The best relative timefigure of the day was achieved by Un de Sceaux in the Grade 2 Devenish Chase. The Ryanair runner-up is as consistent a chaser as they come having recorded timefigures between 161 and 165 five times in his last eight starts and, though this one (162) was at the lower end of that narrow scale, he was eased a bit after his nearest rival Doctor Phoenix (might have achieved a timefigure of 159 or so had he stood up) fell two out.

Un De Sceaux wins the Grade 2 Devenish Chase! @Fairyhouse @DevenishNutri pic.twitter.com/gKan6tbaMD

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) April 2, 2018

The Irish National, in which three horses traded odds on in running, thrillingly tested all the attributes a long-distance steeplechaser requires, with half a dozen in with a chance at the final fence. The winner General Principle (135) had recorded a slightly better figure (138) when fifth in this race last year and has a particularly good record in the mud in the spring months.