OTHER races on Cheltenham’s Tuesday did not have quite the same interest as the Arkle, the Champion, or the Supreme, but they all took some winning as usual.
Vroum Vroum Mag gave her odds-on backers few moments of concern on her way to a ready win in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle, her 138 timefigure in a truly-run race more a reflection of the limitations of her rivals than her own.
None of the other three chases on the card was especially strongly-run, and Un Temps Por Tout (146 timefigure) and Minella Rocco (137 timefigure) should be able to run a bit faster still when called upon.
Minella Rocco accounted for a reinvigorated Native River, who once had a 149 timefigure, and 148-rated Measureofmydreams in the National Hunt Chase, and could clearly scale similar heights faced with an end-to-end gallop. The concluding novice handicap chase won by Ballyalton tested pace more than stamina (all first five home finished faster than their average race speeds), and the winner’s 138 timefigure does not look to be a ceiling, either.