THERE are already many odds-on favourites for some of the Grade 1s at next March’s Cheltenham Festival, but which horse has the performance on record to justify such short odds?

Energumene effortlessly added a second successive Grade 2 Hilly Way Chase to his CV and, even though the Champion Chase winner of last season looked to going through the motions, his time was still faster than talented mare Impervious, who also impressed on the clock at Cork on Sunday.

The basis of a time figure, identical to last year, was formed by a display showcasing Energumene’s trademark enthusiasm and the decision of Paul Townsend to allow his mount to extend through the closing stages.

Impervious was 3.7secs quicker through the final circuit and was also quickest from the fourth last fence, stopping the clock at 60.9secs, compared to the 61.1secs taken by the last season’s Champion Chase hero to cover the same ground.

This data vindicates the view that the son of Denham Red set off swiftly, before responding to Townend when asked to take a breather in the back straight, in doing so displaying the versatility which makes him adaptable in whichever manner the race develops.

Early findings reveal that Energumene (152+) will be scaling similar heights on the clock as last year, leaving even an impressive Tingle Creek Chase winner Edwardstone with ground to find.

Dare I suggest his claims on a consecutive Champion Chase are the strongest of any of the current Cheltenham Festival Grade 1 favourites.

Struggle

Impervious (151+) looked to be facing an uphill struggle entering the home straight as main rival Dinoblue (148) set sail for home although, once galvanised by Brian Hayes, the six-year-old was equal to the task and, as the numbers illustrate, found plenty for pressure to prevail by three lengths.

When interviewed post-race, Hayes suggested an extra half mile would be within the mare’s compass, which is a comment that can also be applied to the runner up who jumped well and maintained the gallop all the way to the line.

There was also promise in the chase debut of Instit (128), who was on the heels of the winner at the fourth last before making a jolting error.

Paul Townend was not unduly hard thereafter as the filly tired in the closing stages.

No hiding a high-class staying novice

CORK’s Grade 3 contest for staying novice hurdlers looked the most competitive race of the day as both Cool Survivor and Monbeg Park had looked promising stayers when winning recently.

However, despite improving on those achievements, they were both readily dismissed by Hiddenvalley Lake (143+) who produced a performance of a very high-class staying novice and one which looks destined to shine at the highest level.

The time figure reflected the strong early gallop set by Cool Survivor which he continued unabated as the field headed out on the final circuit. These tactics demanded that the winner cover the final lap of the Mallow track 6.7secs quicker than Meetingofthewaters, who posted the next quickest final circuit time in claiming victory.

In winning with authority, Henry de Bromhead’s gelding also matched the finishing efforts of talented winners Blood Destiny (100+) and Arctic Bresil (115+) who were quickening off a slow pace, as he covered the ground from the fourth last in 75.1secs.

In comparison Blood Destiny, who jumped particularly well in the straight, competed his race in 74.4secs and Arctic Bresil posted 75.4secs for his closing sectional.

For the record, the variance in circuit time between the Grade 3 and the preceding races was 15.9secs and 11.9secs respectively.

The closing sectional of all three early winners gain extra credibility when compared to the handicaps which concluded the meeting as Meetingofthewaters (100) stopped the clock at 76.3secs and Nephin Beg (124) covered the same ground in 79.1secs.

Handicaps

Of the two handicaps, the success of Nephin Beg looks the strongest on the clock as the swing of 2.2secs on the final circuit time was not enough for Meetingofthewaters to close the gap on the Jordan Gainford-ridden winner who held sway on the overall race time by 6.8secs.

In fact, a split screen view of the two races showed Light Parade (118) and West Breeze (118), who were third and fourth in the concluding race, would have made been in volved in the photo finish in the preceding race.

They can be supported at a similar level as they were compromised by the way their race developed from the front.

The final piece of analysis adds further endorsement to the Hiddenvalley Lake performance as a comparison with Nephin Beg from the first hurdle jumped together showed the Robcour owned five-year-old to be a staggering eight seconds or 40 lengths quicker.

The winner accepted, this also confirms that Cool Survivor (137+), Monbeg Park (137+), Letsbeclearaboutit (137+) and Senecia (137) are all talented staying novice hurdlers.