THE best timefigure at Sandown came not in the listed mares’ hurdle, won by Lifeboat Mona, the seven-year-old posting a 142 figure which is close to the average standard usually required to win the equivalent contest at the Cheltenham Festival.

By comparison, the time recorded by Garde la Victoire in winning the two-mile handicap chase was unexceptional – worth just a 140 timefigure – given that he had a 158 to his name when going down only narrowly to Sir Valentino in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter in November.

Garde la Victoire ran much the same sectionals from two out and from the last as did Pete The Feat (timefigure 117) in winning the veterans’ chase over more than three miles later on the card which was not one of his best efforts on the clock.

It was possible to see most of the starts and most of the finishes at Chepstow on Sunday but not much in between. Nonetheless, that was sufficient to establish that Mr McGo ran the near-20-furlong hurdles’ course much quicker than did Constantine Bay in the other leg of the novice event (a slowly-run contest early on) and Cobolobo in the handicap which wrapped up the card.

Mr McGo ran his rivals into submission, recording a 138 timefigure which may dip under the radar for many. While not necessarily a contender for major honours, the six-year-old has done well in a short space of time and could make an impact in handicaps hereafter.