THE Nicky Henderson-trained novice Lulamba made a most impressive debut in the juvenile hurdle at Ascot.

This is a case of the data backing up what your eyes saw.

He easily saw off another hurdling debutant in the shape of Mondo Man, a very useful recruit from the flat, who finished fourth in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot behind the high class Calandagan.

Not only did he beat him easily, but he also conceded him 10lb.

This race was run at an even gallop with only the first three able to record relatively strong finishes, as evidenced by their Finishing Speed Percentages (FSPs)

1st Lulamba: FSP: 103.50%

2nd Mondo Man: 102.22%

3rd Viyanni: 101.26%

The suspicion is that Lulamba could have gone faster, given the ease of his success. Even so, he still hit the highest speed on the day at Ascot, recording 35.27mph through the 14th furlong, when making a move from third to first.

The view expressed by Nicky Henderson that Lulamba picked up and surged clear after the last is backed up by the Race IQ sectionals.

It is rare in National Hunt racing for a horse to record a faster final furlong than the preceding three, but that is what Lulamba did.

Final three furlongs:

F14: 13.43s

F15: 13.74s

F16: 13.33s

This highlights that Lulamba is a fast horse, who has a sharp turn of foot and, frighteningly for his potential Triumph Hurdle opponents, there could be more to come.

This speed through the jumping envelope will be a potent weapon in the Triumph Hurdle

His jumping was good enough on the day, with room for improvement. He recorded an overall Jump Index score of 6.7 out of 10, which was joint best in the race, alongside Viyanni in third and, while this represents a respectable score on debut, there is clearly scope for better to come.

Where he did impress at his hurdles was how quickly he was able to recover his speed, having jumped a hurdle. On average, it took him 0.835s to recover the speed that he was travelling at when entering the jumping envelope.

To put this in context, Constitution Hill, who is very slick at his hurdles, took on average 0.887s to recover his speed over the eight hurdles of the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton.

This speed through the jumping envelope, allied to his flat speed, will be a potent weapon in the Triumph Hurdle and, while I am far from suggesting that Lulamba is the next Constitution Hill, of all the short-priced ante-post favourites at Cheltenham, he is surely the value at a generally available 6/4.

Cheltenham question mark for classy Matata

MATATA put up a classy performance winning the Fitzdares Great Park Handicap Chase at Windsor by 10 lengths off a mark of 150.

He is a fast horse and, as such, was suited by this tight track, but even so, this must be rated as a career best, ridden for the first time by J.J. Slevin.

He is a keen going sort, who normally leads, but it was encouraging that he settled nicely just off the pace before his exuberance got the better of him, taking up the running after 11 furlongs.

He was far too fast for his rivals and, thanks to him relaxing better in the first half of the race, he was able to finish his race off relatively strongly, recording an FSP of 101.02%. It was his mid-race pace that took him clear of his rivals.

Fastest

He tracked a steady pace through the first mile before J.J. Slevin injected some pace. Having gone to the front, he was the only horse to run six sub-15.00s furlongs and he was the fastest in the field through F12: 14.15s and F13: 13.61s.

This injection of pace took him clear, and he was the fastest horse through four of the final five furlongs. It was only the final furlong, where the runner-up made any ground up.

He is exuberant and this sharp track suited him, along with a slightly more restrained ride. His ability to carry out the same tactics at Cheltenham must be questioned, given the stiffer nature of the track. He was well-beaten in the Arkle (fourth) last year (20 lengths) by Gaelic Warrior, having made the running before tiring and recording an FSP of 98.62%.

Speed-favoured

He has won once at Cheltenham, when he was left clear by the late fall of Gunsight Ridge, who may well have outstayed him up the hill. Given his speed, his best chance in the Queen Mother Champion Chase would be if he were to get a soft lead in front, but it’s no coincidence that his career best effort at Windsor last Sunday was on a flat, speed-favouring track.

He is an average jumper of a fence, but was still better than his rivals here, gaining 3.23 lengths on the field.

Interestingly, those gains were made in the second half of the race, when he was allowed to stride on in front. Under restraint over the first four fences, he lost ground at all four.

If ever he was to relax better, his chance in a championship race would be significantly enhanced, but that is a big IF.

THE Grade 2 Bet MGM Mares Hurdle was a disappointing return to action from Kargese, who was beaten by Take No Chances. She travelled strongly and was the last horse to come off the bridle, but was one paced off the bridle.

On her previous start at Punchestown in the Grade 1 Punchestown Hurdle, she settled well off the pace in a slowly run race and showed a fine turn of foot, recording an FSP of 112.18%.

At Ascot, she was too keen in a race run at a more even tempo and lacked the same turn of foot, having used up her energy too soon in the race.

Second place

Racing keenly in last place, she made a move from the rear five furlongs from home and was the fastest horse through F12: 13.86s F13: 14.04s F14: 13.56s. This move took her into second place, but she could not sustain this effort and the winner was faster through each of the final two furlongs. This premature move took its toll and meant that she could not quicken in the closing stages, recording an FSP of 101.44%. She came home evenly, but the sharp change of gear we saw at Punchestown was missing.

She was just too keen under Paul Townend, who rather than make a move a long way out, had his hand forced by the mare taking hold of the bit and tanking her way through the field.

Kargese jumped well, as she always does. In all of her six runs over hurdles, she has recorded a jump index above 100 and the 8.1 she recorded here might have been marginally the lowest of her career, but it is still a figure that shows her to be a fast and efficient jumper.

I think we will see a different Kargese next time out, with this run behind her. She is unlikely to be so fresh and will be more amenable to restraint that will allow her to utilise the sharp turn of foot that she has got.

Given the speed she has and her forward going nature, two miles is always going to be likely to suit her better than two and a half.

THE 2024 Ryanair winner Protektorat looked to be a completely different model under a change of tactics in the Fitzdares Fleur De Lys Chase Windsor.

He made all the running to win by an impressive 23 lengths. This was not a case of Harry Skelton getting an uncontested lead and dictating a steady pace before sprinting clear.

He put his rivals to the sword from the outset and, as a result, finished relatively slowly, recording an FSP of 97.03%, but although he did not produce a fast finish, the data tells us his rivals were completely undone by the strong pace he set and all finished very tired.

Finishing Speed percentages Fleur De Lys (Final Four furlongs)

1st Protektorat: 97.03% (62.88s)

2nd Djelo: 90.72% (68.42s)

3rd Journey With Me 86.50% (72.87s)

His jumping was bold and better than it has been under hold up tactics in the past. He gained 9.42 lengths on the field with some prodigious leaps, not least at the third last, where he was over three lengths better than his rivals.

The data also shows that he was not particularly good over the last two fences, as he got tired. He lost 7.56mph at the second last and 4.48mph at the last, which represented his two slowest jumps. This would suggest that even on a sharp track when going a good gallop two miles six furlongs is a s far as he wants to go.