Edwardstone and Bravemansgame allow Brits to dream of some Cheltenham success

The weekend's racing must, in many previous years, have shed some light on the Gold Cup puzzle thanks to the presence on Newbury's card of the Denman Chase. The picture for Cheltenham's Friday showpiece remains opaque, however, and instead the greatest impact was made by a couple of top-class novice chasers whose connections can now steer towards the festival with confidence and ambition.

Edwardstone is not as flashy, in the way that he travels, as two of his rivals in Saturday's Kingmaker and nor is his frame so obviously that of a finely tuned athlete. But he has power. When he jumped to the front halfway down Warwick's back straight, it looked like a rugby player passing a ballet dancer.

Alan King's star is now favourite for the Arkle, which his trainer won in back-to-back years some time ago. It means that the market-leaders for the first three races at next month's festival are all based in Britain. Crisis? What crisis?