THERE have been mixed messages about the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham – won by the much-lauded Samcro – since it took place.

Scarpeta and Duc Des Genievres (fourth and fifth at Cheltenham) let the form down somewhat when beaten further into third and fifth by Pallasator in a Grade 2 at Fairyhouse. But Black Op went one better when winning the Betway Mersey Novices’ Hurdle and sixth-placed Vision Des Flos went four better when second to Lalor in the Betway Top Novices’ Hurdle, both at Aintree.

It is a moot point whether Black Op paid much of a compliment at all to Samcro by struggling home by half a length from Lostintranslation, with several others not far behind, and I have him running a 148 timefigure compared to a 158 earlier: this should have been a penalty kick with On The Blind Side underperforming after a break. Vision Des Flos lost no caste in defeat against Lalor, but this was definitely one of the weaker novice hurdles at the meeting, and the winner’s timefigure was just 131 following a surprisingly slow finish.

Portrush Ted was around 15 lengths quicker from three out (or where three out would have been) in winning the Grade 2 Bumper at the end of the same card and gets a 119 timefigure, still several pounds behind the best of the Irish-trained bumper horses.

Santini looked like he might go clear when leading three out in the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle on the same day but had to battle to see off Roksana. A modest early pace meant that Santini got to record only a 142 timefigure, eight below his best when defeating Black Op at Cheltenham in January.

One horse whose absence at Cheltenham might well have been significant is We Have A Dream, who won the Doom Bar Anniversary 4-Y-O Hurdle at Aintree on Thursday in tremendous style.

His timefigure here of 152 is just behind the one-two in the Triumph Hurdle (Farclas on 155 and Mr Adjudicator on 153) but he managed to beat Apple’s Shakira (fourth at Cheltenham and third here) by more than 10 lengths further than that pair did.

We Have A Dream’s prospects as a Champion Hurdler next season may depend in part on his encountering similarly testing ground to here and to his best efforts previously.

We Have A Dream managed to be fully 7.3s quicker than Getaway Katie Mai was in winning a Grade 2 Mares’ Bumper at the end of Thursday’s card, that, and more besides, squandered in the first half of the race. The latter gets a timefigure of just 74, but she did well in other respects to come from so far back.