THE drive through the beautiful Scottish borders to Kelso sometimes outshines the action on the course once you get there. But that would not have been the case last Saturday, for those allowed to attend, as the sport was of notably good quality, with the winners including the new clear favourite for the Grand National at Aintree and one of the season’s best novice hurdlers to date.

The former is Cloth Cap, who left even his useful handicap form behind when taking the Listed Premier Chase easily from Aso and Two For Gold. His overall time was not especially fast, in a race which turned into something of a test of speed, but Cloth Cap’s authority was unmistakable, and he is now worth a rating of 162, making him theoretically 14lb “well in” for the big race. The ground may be important to Cloth Cap, in that it was “good” when he won the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury and only a bit softer here, but he is justifiably in pole position for April 10th in other respects.

Smart Drogo

The smart novice hurdle winner was My Drogo, who ran away with the Grade 2 Premier Novices’ Hurdle despite conceding weight all round. He was helped by the under-performance or non-completion of a few of his main rivals but backed up the effort with a good time, worth 153 by my reckoning.

That makes him the equal of Appreciate It, and ahead of anything else in the division, going into Cheltenham, though it seems likely that the bar will be raised higher in one or more of the festival’s novice hurdles.

Shunter improving

My Drogo’s race was the only one run at an extended 18 furlongs but his closing splits were still quicker than The Shunter’s in winning the Morebattle Hurdle at about two furlongs shorter elsewhere on the card while carrying 10lb less. The Shunter just keeps getting better and better, with this worth a 144 rating.

The other notable winning effort on the card came from Flash Collonges, who ran to 145 in winning a handicap hurdle, though his overall time was punished by a fast early/slow late profile. The novice was reported afterwards to have burst a blood vessel.

Getaway triumphs

There was not a lot of great quality going on away from Kelso in Britain in the period under review, but a clear exception was the win of Getaway Trump in a handicap at Doncaster on Saturday, something he achieved with a degree of comfort.

Beating the 13-year-old Duke Of Navan may not look anything special on paper, but the rest were beaten a lot further and the time looks good compared to the only other chase on the card. I have stuck Getaway Trump back on a figure of 153, which is the same as he managed at his best over hurdles.

Newbury’s meeting on Saturday saw a couple of useful handicap wins, from Umbrigado (149, Greatwood Gold Cup Handicap Chase) and Millers Bank (147, Handicap Hurdle), the former benefiting from the waywardness of third-placed The Big Bite (also 149).

Hitman did not have to run near to his best, either in terms of form or time, to land a three-runner novice chase later on the card readily. His 157-rated second to Allmankind in the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown in December continues to identify him as one of the best novice chasers in what is a particularly good season for them.