TACTICS and pace proved to be all-important at Kempton on St Stephen’s Day, when the three Grade 1s – the King George VI Chase, the Christmas Hurdle and the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase – all went to front-runners.

Bryony Frost delivered a masterclass on Frodon to win the first-named, setting sedate fractions before Frodon ran from three out quicker than any other recent winner of this race.

The gelding was helped by the under-performance of Santini (again in a race that did not really suit him) and especially Cyrname and Lostintranslation, but he is a tough horse to pass especially when allowed to have things his own way, as here.

I have returned Frodon’s rating to 169, for all that his overall time performance here was only about 138, while Waiting Patiently, who was fastest of all from the home turn and possibly unlucky, is on 167. But the abiding impression is that this form may not prove the most robust, especially when applied to a truly run race at a still longer distance.

One reason to think that is the time comparison with the Kauto Star Novice Chase at the same distance, which Shan Blue won in a time 3.3s (about 15 lengths) quicker than Frodon went on to record.

Shan Blue’s splits were very close to par, as a result of which he was nearly 30 lengths up on Frodon on the home turn before the latter roughly halved the difference.

Shan Blue is a magnificent jumper for a novice, and clearly much better over fences than he was over hurdles, but fewer than 10 lengths covered all five finishers in this and it is difficult to justify rating him any higher than 150. The Big Breakaway (147) in second and If The Cap Fits (143) in third would have made things much tighter if jumping more fluently.

Christmas Hurdle

Overall time comparisons look significant in attempting to evaluate the win of Silver Streak in the Christmas Hurdle, in which he had Epatante (receiving a 7lb sex allowance) six and a half lengths down at the line and the very useful pair Ballyandy and Floressa well beaten.

Silver Streak ran the two miles 3.7s (approaching 20 lengths) faster than 143-rated Third Time Lucki had managed in winning the opening novice, and the comparison speaks well of the former.

Ridden in this manner, on an easy track and with the ground only a bit softer than good, Silver Streak is probably a 163 horse and up to going close in a weak Champion Hurdle.

That said, Epatante (165) would still be ahead of him at the weights at Cheltenham on my figures. It was later reported that the mare, who clouted a couple, was found to be in season.

Third Time Lucki is one of the better novice hurdlers seen so far, but not the best: that is much like his status in bumpers, in which sphere he was first home of the British in fourth in the latest Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.