THIS review managed to miss out on a couple of significant performances at Gowran Park last Tuesday week.

First up was Bachasson’s win in the Grade 2 Red Mills Chase, in which he beat Castlegrace Paddy easily by 16 lengths in a time fully 13.7s (nearly a furlong) quicker than the other race at the same course and distance.

On his day, and this was one of those, Bachasson is close to high-class, and this effort can be rated 165 and on a par with his defeat of Cilaos Emery in another Grade 2 – the Clonmel Oil Chase – back in November. A trip of around two and a half miles and the mud sees him in an especially good light.

That other Gowran Park race was the beginners’ chase won in nothing like as good a time by Cedarwood Road, who, nonetheless, looked to confirm himself as a 147 performer.

He was paying a compliment to The Big Getaway (now 158), who had beaten him easily at Leopardstown the time before.

There were decent wins later in the week in Ireland for Scarlet And Dove (143) in the Grade 3 Flyingbolt Novice Chase at Navan from Sempo (140, with more still to come), Noble Yeats (134) in a maiden hurdle at the same venue, and by Mitchouka (144) in a 21-furlong handicap chase at Leopardstown.