THERE were two Cheltenham Festival winners in action in the Grade 2 Novice Chase at Navan on Sunday, both laying down their chances for the Brown Advisory in four weeks time. Better Days Ahead got the job done, but it was Stellar Story that really caught the eye in second, writes Page Fuller.

He failed to back his Albert Bartlett win up, when finishing fourth at Punchestown in May. Then, despite winning on chase debut in November, suffered a heavy defeat at Leopardstown at Christmas. What I thought was particularly interesting about this performance, however, was his jumping.

Sunday was the first time Stellar Story has ever gained a jumping advantage against his rivals, according to our Lengths Gained Jumping model. It is also backed up by his Jump Index of 8.1, which is far higher than anything he has posted previously over fences and hurdles. Granted, it wasn’t enough to turn the tables on Better Days Ahead, but it got him an awful lot closer than he has done previously.

He was tough when he won at Cheltenham last year, despite forfeiting nearly two and a half lengths through his jumping. His jumping was rated 6.9 by the Jump Index that day, so can you imagine how far he would have won by had he jumped as well as he did on Sunday?

The race on Sunday was also not run to suit, turning into a sprint in the closing stages, so despite completing the final furlongs 0.67 seconds quicker than Better Days Ahead, he had been given too much to do.

Considering his defeats at Leopardstown at Christmas and Punchestown were both on good to yielding ground, and his Albert Bartlett win was on heavy, it looks like he may need the heavens to open too. But, if the race turned into a true stamina test, he is one of the proven stayers and would be dangerous to overlook at a price for the feature race next month.