YOU can, as they say, only beat what is put in front of you. But at least, with access to sectionals, we can go beyond the rather prosaic details of Epatante’s reappearance win in the Betfair Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle last Saturday, when, in receipt of a sex allowance, she beat Sceau Royal by four and a quarter lengths, with the merely useful pair Ribble Valley and Voix Du Reve not too far behind.

That might be worth a figure of only around 150 on the winner on the bare facts, but we know that Epatante showed an electric turn of foot – 12.53s for the final furlong and under 26.0s for the final quarter of a mile – resulting in a finishing speed above 105% on a slightly uphill finish. That sort of kick is seen very rarely in the jumps code.

Sectional upgrading has her at 165, which is a new personal best and the highest figure by a hurdler this campaign, and suggests it will take a properly good one to beat her at Cheltenham in March in this form. Sceau Royal remains on 156, the same figure as Silver Streak, carried out by the wayward Not So Sleepy early on in this.

Elsewhere on the Newcastle card, Yorkhill staged an unexpected renaissance in a first-time tongue tie to win the Rehearsal Handicap Chase with a 145-rated performance that seemed to be popular with everyone other than backers of runner-up Whatmore (a hands up from me), who is beginning to flatter to deceive.

The Rehearsal was run in a time 7.4s quicker than the useful novice handicap chase won earlier by The Ferry Master, who nonetheless can be credited with a rating of 132 now.