THE best timefigure at Sandown came not in the listed mares’ hurdle, won by Lifeboat Mona, the seven-year-old posting a 142 figure which is close to the average standard usually required to win the equivalent contest at the Cheltenham Festival.

By comparison, the time recorded by Garde la Victoire in winning the two-mile handicap chase was unexceptional – worth just a 140 timefigure – given that he had a 158 to his name when going down only narrowly to Sir Valentino in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter in November.