RaceiQ review: Lossiemouth's pure speed dazzles in sprint finish

As the sun blazed down on across the three days of the 2025 Randox meeting, the drying conditions meant there was always going to be an emphasis upon one thing: speed. 

The first four races on Thursday were all won by the horse that recorded the quickest Top Speed, and Impaire Et Passe was quick to set the tone in the Manifesto Novices’ Chase. Paul Townend let Bryan Carver dictate the pace aboard Gidleigh Park and then used his mount's potent turn of foot to put the race to bed.

He was the only horse to approach either of the final two fences quicker than 34mph, and the only horse with a Top Speed quicker than 35mph. His final four furlongs time of 54.94 seconds was the quickest posted by any chaser across all three days. 

His Jump Index score of 9.1 in the race is the best jumping performance we have for him in the database, but it was Gidleigh Parkthat caught the eye in the jumping department. His Jump Index of 9.7 was the highest posted by any horse, hurdle or fences, during the meeting. 

Gidleigh Park lacked the speed of the winner, only hitting 34.3 mph in the penultimate furlong. But considering his size and that some of his smartest form has come on softer ground, he’s definitely the one to keep an eye on next season with more favourable conditions. 

Arguably, the most dramatic race of the week was not the Grand National itself, but the Hurdle. It could have been redemption day for Constitution Hill in his rematch with but once again he showed us that these four-legged athletes tread a very fine line in the search for brilliance. 

At the hurdle before he fell, he was so slick he only lost -0.87 mph. This was his best jump of the race scoring a Jump Index of 9.0. How the story changed just a few seconds later. 

Constitution Hill's fall shouldn’t distract from the brilliance of Lossiemouth, however, who put in one of the most impressive speed performances of the meeting. She approached the first eight hurdles at no quicker than 31mph but then showed an electric turn of foot, which saw her suddenly quicken to more than 35mph into the last two hurdles. 

Her final four furlong time of 53.33 seconds was the fastest of the whole meeting, as was her Finishing Speed Percentage of 110.36%. With figures like that, connections must be looking at the Champion Hurdle next season... right?

The RaceiQ data also showed

Wodhooh

’s performance in defeat was impressive. Her Top Speed of 36mph may have fallen just short when compared to Lossiemouth’s Top Speed of 36.22 mph, but she really wasn't far behind. She could some beating in the Mares’ Hurdle at next year’s Cheltenham Festival. 

Caldwell Potter continued his fine form in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase and did what he does best. Jump. 

He got into a beautiful rhythm and galloped his rivals into the ground. There were only two horses with a lower Top Speed than Caldwell Potter's 31.87 mph, but Harry Cobden set perfectly even fractions, as his Finishing Speed Percentage of 99.74% suggests. 

Runner-up Jordans once again reminded us how talented he could be if he could brush up on his jumping. His Jump Index score of 7.5 was his highest so far over fences, but he still forfeited nearly three and a half lengths through his steady jumping. He posted the highest Top Speed, 32.96 mph, of the whole race in the penultimate furlong. This nearly won him the race, but even at the last he forfeited nearly three parts of a race to Caldwell Potter. 

Salvator Mundi finally fulfilled the promise that we had been hoping to see from him. He looked a lot happier through the race than during his lacklustre performance in the Supreme Novices’ hurdle. He raced with zest, approaching his obstacles at 32.55 mph, which was the fastest average approach speed of the meeting. He was still a bit scrappy at times, but his Jump Index of 7.7 was the best that he has jumped so far on that scale.

Interestingly, he also recorded the longest average stride length at the meeting, covering 6.83metres on average with every stride. 

The fastest Top Speed over fences this week was recorded by Matata in the Melling Chase. He hit 35.45 mph in the second furlong, testament to the speed they went early doors. So the manner of the victory was therefore encouraging from Jonbon, because despite the honest pace set early, he managed to stay on terms unlike had been the case at Cheltenham. Jonbon's Finishing Speed Percentage of 97.31% was the slowest winning FSP of the week. He had to be tough. 

There were a couple of particularly interesting stories to extract from the data in the Grand National itself.

Nick Rockett

jumped superbly, which really told in the end. He had a jumping advantage of more than 27 lengths on the runner up

I Am Maximus

. He was also really tough up the run-in, managing to quicken up again in the final furlong with a furlong of 15.87secs in comparison to his penultimate sectional 16.02secs. 

What was significant, though, was the difference in the pace of this year’s National compared to last year. They got racing a lot further out than last year, with all of the first eleven home clocking their quickest furlong either five or six furlongs from the finish as there was a sudden injection of pace at a much earlier point.

Last year, I Am Maximus clocked his quickest furlong of 14.45 seconds in the penultimate furlong and maintained it with a 14.58secs furlong to the line. Even on quicker ground, the fact they quickened up so much earlier meant that while he still finished the race off better than most, he was only able to manage the same furlongs in 15.85secs and 16.41secs.

On this quicker ground he came unstuck, but it was a monster performance from the runner-up. On slightly slower conditions, don't be sure he can't come back and regain his crown.