Expert Analysis

This was a strongly run race with a tired finish in relation to the Grand Annual Chase that followed. With three to jump Il Etait Temps was about two seconds clear of Martator when comparing the pair from their respective first fences. The handicap winner than gradually closed that gap before the pair finished ‘alongside each other’ at the winning post.

IL ETAIT TEMPS He has now won his latest six completed chases and five of those victories have come at grade one level. The reasons he was trading as the second favourite here were three fold. Firstly, he looked completely out of sorts in his prep run at Ascot in the middle of January. Secondly, he had not jumped well in the 2024 Arkle Trophy Chase which was the only other time he had competed over fences here. Finally, that defeat in the Arkle was arguably the third time in a row that he had performed below his best at the Cheltenham Festival.

His comfortable success here overrides any doubts we may have held over his status as the best two-mile chaser around at the moment. Perhaps, the faster conditions here also played a significant role in this huge step forward from his previous run on a soft surface at Ascot.

LIBBERTY HUNTER After playing little to no part in the business end of this contest he ran past tiring horses to inherit a flattering second place finish. The ground would have been much faster than ideal for him and I would suggest that the only way he could go close at this sort of level would be in an extremely fast run race on testing going where the leaders all fall in a heap. Despite appearing to stay on strongly up the hill, I think this was more to do with most of his rivals stopping. This notion is supported by the fact that the winner increased his margin of superiority over Libberty Hunter at each of the final two fences and again at the winning post.

L’EAU DU SUD I would suggest that his chances were hampered by remaining closer than ideal to a very strong pace up until the third last fence. His relatively tame finish was a familiar sight with this Dan Skelton chaser and the one piece of form to place him at the highest level remains the time he beat a palpably unfit Jonbon in the Shloer Chase here in November.

CAPTAIN GUINNESS He never played a part in the race before inheriting a flattering fourth place finish in the closing stages. He merely ran past a couple of horses that were tiring after racing in a more competitive manner throughout.

QUILIXIOS I suspect he stayed too close to a very fast pace in the first half of the contest and struggled in the latter stages as a consequence. He had a setback at Xmas time and perhaps his preparation for this race was more rushed than his connections would have liked.

IRISH PANTHER After being switched from the Arle to this contest, he performed well for a long way before a less than fluent leap at the second last fence cost him ground and momentum. His more serious error at the final fence ended his chances of a first four finish.

MAJBOROUGH For the second Cheltenham Festival in a row his jumping gradually deteriorated in the second half of the race. This was his eighth start over fences and he has now made jumping errors in all bar one of those races. The one stand out performance was in his previous outing at the Dublin Racing Festival and the quality of that effort was the sole reason he was trading as the odds on favourite here.

BROOKIE He was in the rear from the first fence and simply never looked like getting involved in the race.

SAINT SEGAL After a serious blunder at the very first fence he then struggled towards the rear until being pulled up after the fifth fence.

FOUND A FIFTY He was never travelling and also jumping out to his right before tailing off and being pulled up after the sixth fence.