THE action on Thursday switched to the New Course, on which overall times and sectionals indicated that conditions were less testing than they had been on the first two days: I would go for “soft” on the Thursday and between “good to soft” and “soft” for the final day.

The two main contests were, of course, the Ryanair Chase and the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle. One went largely to form, the other did not.