RaceiQ Cheltenham Festival Round-Up

Kopek Des Bordes was a very impressive winner of this race, and the data backs that up. They went a strong gallop and this imposing son of No Risk At All got favourite-backers off to the dream start. 

His enormous average-stride length of 6.9 metres ate the ground up. This was the largest average-stride length recorded by any horse at the Festival, as was his peak stride length of 7.9 metres. 

He also approached the hurdles on average at a rapid 33mph, which was also the fastest of any horse all week. 

This reflects how impressively he jumped and travelled at speed through the race. 

But he will need to learn to settle a bit better as, despite this fast pace. he still pulled pretty har  and might not always have the luxury of such a strong pace at which to aim. 

reminded us all that slick, fast jumping comes with risks attached. He is a gorgeous, big-framed horse but as soon as he met one fence wrong, his confidence went. 

He left his back legs trailing in the 10th fence and lost 5.97mph in the process. He was only travelling at 28.71mph into that fence, though, so when he had the same lack of respect for the second last fence, travelling at 32.3mph, the consequences were far more severe. 

The 8.6mph that he lost at the fence was the final nail in the coffin for his chances. 

Considering he was beaten less than a length in the end, there is plenty to suggest he is still a horse to look forward to next season. As a five-year-old, he is also entitled to strengthen up again for a break. 

quashed any doubts about her well-being and ran out an impressive winner of the Mares’ Hurdle. 

We know you don’t need the data to highlight this, but we wanted to give her a shout-out as the time she took to cover the final half mile, 53.29secs, was the quickest of any horse at the Festival over obstacles. 

bucked the trend of Challow Hurdle winners in this race in impressive fashion. What was particularly eyecatching was the speed he displayed in victory. 

He hit 36.53mph down the hill which was by far the quickest of the race. 

was the next quickest, but he only managed 35.82mph. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for a very versatile and exciting young horse. 

totally fluffed his lines in this, certainly hindered by the steady fractions set in front. To put context on this, Lecky Watson, the winner, had an average entry speed over the first 11 fences of 27.6mph and then 30.9mph over the last three fences. 

Ballyburn pulled way too hard through the race and it was only a matter of time before his jumping fell apart. He lost 5.2mph on average at his obstacles, and as much as 9.76mph following some of his mistakes on the way round. 

In total, it meant he forfeited more than 15 lengths, with Lecky Watson having held a jumping advantage of over 18 lengths on him. 

Whether he stays over fences will be interesting to see, but he remains a talented horse if he can brush up on his jumping. We wouldn’t be giving up on him yet. 

Jonbon was another who fluffed his lines in the jumping department but the biggest question is: was it a symptom or a cause? 

Yes, he made some shuddering mistakes on the way around, the worst of which lost him 9mph at a crucial point of the race, but was that responsible for his defeat? We’re not so sure. 

He never found any sort of rhythm in the race from the start, and he lost lengths on the field at nine of the 13 fences. Was that a symptom that the race just didn’t go his way? 

It’s also easy to think that he was storming home, but the sectionals actually tell us that he was just passing tired horses. 

He completed the final furlong just 0.15 seconds quicker than Marine Nationale which meant that he didn’t even make up a length on him after the jumping was done. 

looks one to keep an eye on after her game win in the Champion bumper. At the Dublin Racing Festival, her winning time of three minutes and 59.50 seconds in the mares’ bumper was nearly six seconds quicker than the boys race the day before. 

What was most impressive about her win in the Champion Bumper were her closing fractions. 

Four of her last five furlongs clocked were quicker than 13 seconds and she completed the final furlong nearly 0.4 seconds quicker than the runner up. 

She’ll be exciting in novice hurdles next season. 

finally found his mojo for Paul Nicholls and got into a beautiful jumping rhythm in front. Again, you don’t need the data to tell you he jumped well, but it’s great to provide context. 

He only lost 2.95mph on average at his obstacles and gained nearly 17 lengths on the field through his jumping. 

What was particularly impressive was the speed he approached the second last fence at. He approached the fence at 33.5mph – 1.5mph quicker than the runner up Anyway. 

This speed put the race to bed and it’s exciting to see how he progresses next year. 

enjoyedthis return totwo and a half miles, over which he was able to make better use of his ability to jump slick and travel at speed. 

When running over farther in races with steady early fractions, he was ridden with patience which meant these main assets were blunted. In fact, it was probably more of a hindrance as it meant he ran a little keen and Mark Walsh could not  use his jumping to an advantage. 

His jump index of 8.8 was the highest he has ever achieved, illustrating how slick and efficient he jumped around the track.  

It will be interesting to see what connections do with him next season, but he galloped impressively to the line and it will be interesting to see whether less reserved tactics in a race like the King George could be on the cards. 

Inothewayurthinkin was a very impressive winner and looks like he could be very short in the next month after that performance. 

His jumping was very slick, posting an 8.0 on the jump index, and he gained an advantage of more than five lengths jumping on . 

That wasn’t the story of the emphatic defeat, however. What stood out from the winner was the turn of foot he displayed at the end of the race. 

His top speed of 36.70mph down the hill was the fastest in the race, and he maintained speeds of 33.77mph into the second last and 33.2 mph into the last fence which is a highly impressive achievement at the end of 3m2f on the stiff New Course. 

His finishing speed percentage of 111.77% was also the highest of the whole meeting as well. 

Galopin Des Champs, in comparison, only approached them at 33.42mph and 31.82mph. 

That meant he was going 1.4mph slower than his conqueror at the last and illustrates that the writing was on the wall well before they jumped it.