THE Cheltenham Festival 2024 got underway on unusual ground for the first day of the meeting. We have become accustomed to the opening day conditions being Good to Soft but after plenty of rain the ground was Heavy.

The opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle was won in a time of 4m 12.87s which is the slowest time in a Supreme this century and was 30.52secs outside the course record.

I have picked out the most pertinent data from day one of the meeting and will start with the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: Slade Steel stays well

The jockeys were clearly mindful of conditions and rode this race accordingly with eight of the 10 finishers able to complete the final four furlongs faster than the previous twelve. Those horses were looked after in the early part of the race so that they could finish well.

The winner Slade Steel and the runner-up Mystical Power produced similar data and it was due to a better position in the race and a stronger final furlong that Slade Steel prevailed. Both completed the final four furlongs strongly, recording the following Finishing Speed Percentages.

Slade Steel: 104.57%

Mystical Power: 104.89%

Mystical Power was slightly quicker through the final four furlongs recording a split of 58.90secs compared to Slade Steel who was slightly slower in 59.00secs.

The reason this faster final four furlongs didn’t propel Mystical Power to victory was that he began his run from further back than Slade Steel. He was sat in ninth place with four furlongs to run whereas Slade Steel was fourth at the same point in the race.

The effort that Mystical Power made to get him into contention from further back than the winner told in the final furlong with Slade Steel staying on the stronger. Their final furlong splits are below.

Slade Steel: 15.87secs

Mystical Power: 16.04secs

It would seem from the data that Slade Steel is a strong stayer at this trip and Mystical Power is more of a speed horse who could have done with better ground.

As far as jumping was concerned, the Race IQ data notes that Mystical Power was 4.92 lengths better than Slade Steel at his hurdles. That Slade Steel has room for improvement in his jumping augurs well for his future. In total, he lost 1.13 lengths on the field at his hurdles, yet he was still able to win by a length and a half.

It is worth pointing out that favourite Tullyhill put up what is becoming his usual sloppy round of jumping, losing ground at six of the eight hurdles.

This was an electric performance from Gaelic Warrior in a first-time hood. He stormed eight and a half lengths clear of his rivals. Much more like the horse we saw at Limerick two starts ago rather than the one we saw last time out at Punchestown.

Matata took them along at nothing more than an average tempo allowing strong finishes from the first three home. Their Finishing Speed Percentages are detailed below.

1st Gaelic Warrior: 105.59%

2nd Found A Fifty: 102.42%

3rd Il Etait Temps: 102.80%

Gaelic Warrior’s superiority is highlighted by a final four furlong split of 59.16secs which was 2.36secs quicker than Found A Fifty in second. He was particularly strong in the final furlong where he recorded a split of 15.63secs compared to the runner-up who stopped the clock at 17.28secs.

That strong final furlong allied to the fact that his best jump of the race came at the last where he gained 4.16 lengths on his rivals suggests that he won with plenty in hand.

It is hard to imagine that Gaelic Warrior would have been so dominant after what happened last time out at Leopardstown, but a first-time hood helped him settle better and the idea that going left-handed is a negative for him is now a thing of the past.

State Man doing what State Man does. Travelling well, jumping only moderately but winning cosily by a length and a quarter.

This was a steadily run Champion Hurdle, the final time of 4m13.88s was 1.01 seconds slower than Slade Steel in the Supreme. That slower time courtesy of the moderate gallop allowed for strong finishes. State Man recorded an FSP of 108.06% meaning he was 8.06% quicker in the final four furlongs than the previous 12 furlongs.

The steady gallop allowing him to save petrol for a fast finish in the conditions. He was the only horse in the race to dip under 15.00secs in the final furlong recording 14.88secs compared to the second who clocked 15.11secs. it was a case of State Man being much better than his rivals and did just what he had to do.

Even though Slade Steel produced a faster overall time than State Man, that was courtesy of a slightly stronger gallop and we cannot make an inference that suggests Slade Steel would have beaten State Man.

In fact, the race IQ data tells us that State Man’s fastest furlong at 13.55secs was faster that Slade Steel’s fastest furlong of 14.00secs. This can be translated into the following top speeds through the race.

Slade Steel: 33.28mph

State Man: 33.91mph

It was a ninth Grade 1 success for State Man and more success awaits.

Another race at a modest tempo. A third very easy winner for the Willie Mullins and Paul Townend combination.

Lossiemouth completely outclassed this field winning by three lengths and it could have been more. She saw out this trip well though it was not a fierce test of stamina and it was her speed that was the decisive factor.

She was held up in the rear and was still sixth with five furlongs to go but she then quickened running four sub-15.00secs furlongs on the spin. This surge took her to the lead two furlongs out and she readily drew clear.

Her final four furlongs were recorded as being 58.88secs which was a shade quicker than Slade Steel (59.00secs) in the Supreme. This raw speed brought her home 5.90% quicker than she ran the previous two miles, and this speed was complimented by some very slick jumping.

Indeed, she put up a much better jumping performance than either Slade Steel or State Man. Through the race, the Race IQ data identifies that she gained seven and a half lengths with her jumping.

Next best in the race was Hispanic Moon in third who gained 2.04 lengths. Lossiemouth was particularly good at the last, where at that hurdle alone she gained 4.3 lengths on the field, a leap of a horse that was full of running.

She has enough speed for a Champion Hurdle tilt, and it would be fascinating to see her go down that route.