IF the defeat of Bravemansgame in Saturday’s Betfair Chase put the knife into the form of last season’s Gold Cup, then the third-place finish for Galopin Des Champs in the John Durkan on Sunday twisted it.

Both the Cheltenham winner and runner-up were beaten at odds-on in their races last weekend and with the form behind them hardly working out either, a couple of theories have emerged about the race: could it have been a bad version of the blue riband or was it too good, leaving a mark on those that took part?

Perhaps the latter is more credible; those that rated the race had it as one of best Gold Cups this century, Timeform for instance said it was the best since Imperial Commander won in 2020, so the hard race angle could have merit though it may not matter because the outcome is the same.

Certainly, the John Durkan was very different to the Gold Cup in terms of how it was run, the Cheltenham contest testing stamina while the Punchestown race emphasised speed even on a slow surface.

Comparing the Grade 1 with the Craddockstown earlier on the card, the experienced horses were nearly 4.5 seconds slower from the first fence in the novice race to the line, but 2.1 seconds quicker from three out.

That sort of relative speed test would not have suited Galopin Des Champs given he looked a strong stayer in March and offers an excuse of sorts, but it is much harder to forgive his poor jumping though interestingly Willie Mullins did say he had schooled sharply during the week; perhaps he left his race there?

Into a slog

The steady pace is something that Mullins would have controlled as he had five of the six runners and that was desirable for the trainer, given he would not have wanted his star chasers to get into a slog on their first starts of the winter.

Appreciate It was the one that went forward, and the market seemed aware that would be the case as he shortened up markedly from his early price, while he looked on much better terms with himself than he had on his final few starts last season after a busy period (six runs between last December and April, taking in four big festivals).

A slow pace would hardly have suited the winner Fastorslow, however. He showed pace over intermediate trips as a hurdler but by far his two best chase runs prior to this came over three miles and in the Punchestown Gold Cup he looked like being left behind four out before stamina kicked in.

This race seemed to confirm a basic but important fact about him: he is a very good horse and a versatile one too.

Underestimate

Everything from his trainer to the paddock judges to the market pointed to him needing this run but he was able to win anyway despite probably preferring better ground and it would be unwise to underestimate him.

Martin Brassil has been training for a long time, not quite since Jesus was a child but since Tony McCoy was an apprentice as we read in last week’s edition of this paper, but one thing has not changed: his horses are at their best in the biggest races.

Going back as far as 2003 on the database Horse Race Base, his record in races worth up to the equivalent of £20,000 is a win strikerate of 10% and a place strikerate of 22.6% for a level-stakes loss of 379.05 points.

For races worth more than £20,000, those numbers improve to 16.2% and 29.9% (win and place) for a level-stakes profit of 28.9 points.

Impressive figures, considering how much harder those valuable races are to compete in.

ONE feature of this part of the Irish jumps programme is how much of it is run at right-handed tracks.

We had Punchestown last weekend, we have Fairyhouse this weekend then it is on to Cork the next Sunday with Punchestown again the following Tuesday.

Navan is sprinkled in along the way, but it really takes until Leopardstown at Christmas for the major races on left-handed tracks to come into play and then they take over for a while with the Dublin Racing Festival and Cheltenham.

This past weekend had a number of horses who seem to prefer going one way or the other.

Gaelic Warrior is one and while he again showed a high level of ability to win at Punchestown on Saturday, his tendency to adjust right was again present.

He was able to compete, and win, on left-handed tracks over hurdles but his best performance came at Punchestown in April and a directional bias is likely to prove more of a thing over fences when there are more obstacles, and they take more jumping.

Another notable aspect about his win last weekend was the pace he showed. His race may have been over nearly 19 furlongs, but his internal sectionals compared to the other chases on the card were those of a two-miler and his aggressive jumping technique would also suggest he wants to go down rather than up in trip.

But if two miles is going to be his optimum, then connections will likely have to try going left-handed again as that is where the Grade 1s are over the minimum trip, at Leopardstown and at Cheltenham, and that could add an interesting variable to those races.

Flooring Porter is another horse that has a clear preference in the direction which he races, and it was a surprise to see him take his chance in the Florida Pearl on Saturday, his first run this way around since he was pulled up in the 2021 Champion Stayers Hurdle at the same track when proving a difficult steer for Jonathan Moore.

Gavin Cromwell had pointed out that his jumping was straight on chase debut at Cheltenham (though hardly entirely accurate) but that was when given an uncontested lead and he had less peace in front here with Favori De Champdou pressing throughout.

As an aside, Favori De Champdou himself has been kept mainly to right-handed tracks.

In the end, Flooring Porter did not handle going right-handed again, and will surely be kept to left-handed courses in the future with Leopardstown at Christmas and/or Naas and Navan early next year obvious targets before Cheltenham, though there is a chance that this run will leave its mark.

Appreciate It ran a career best over fences in the John Durkan and while he was advantaged by track position, one could not rule out a bigger performance from him going back left-handed.

His signature performance to date, the 2021 Supreme, came on a left-handed track and he was inclined to jump that way on Sunday with Patrick Mullins reporting same to the stewards after the race. The Savills Chase might suit him.

Finally, the same working theory might be worth applying to impressive Cork winner, Halka Du Tabert.

She looked uncomfortable going right-handed on occasion over hurdles and while she was able to win that way around on Sunday, it came against a field where she was the standout mare.

While clearly suited by racing over the longest trip she has encountered over fences so far under rules, she went left at a few of her fences and can do better going the other way around.