3 minute read
The Nicky Henderson-trained Might Bite (7/2 favourite) rallied amazingly in the closing stages to edge a dramatic finish after appearing to throw certain victory away in the Grade One RSA Novices' Chase.
Having led, Might Bite under Nico de Boinville, was well clear approaching the final fence, having jumped superbly throughout the three mile contest. However, the son of Scorpion clambered his way through the last fence and subsequently began to hang violently to his right, losing all momentum.
However, de Boinville and the eight-year-old heroically battled back to catch the Davy Russell-ridden Whisper (9/2), also trained by Henderson, by a nose in the most exciting race many had witnessed, drawing huge cheers from the crowd at Prestbury Park.
The Willie Mullins-trained Bellshill was a further 10 lengths behind in third.
Henderson, gaining his third winner of the week at the Festival, his 58th winner overall at the meeting and his third RSA Chase, said: This place has extraordinary tricks in its tales and that was another one.
"It looked, for all the world, that Might Bite had thrown it away when Whisper came along but to be fair Might Bite was the best horse.
"You thought Might Bite had done it all well and then he goes and does that. What can you make of it all? It shows why you should run two in a race or maybe why you shouldn't.
"Nico said going to the last he was looking around but it was just quite extraordinary. He came here as a novice hurdler and did exactly the same thing.
"He is hugely talented. He is only a baby and hasn't had a lot of experience. It is deceptive how quickly he is going.
"The future is enormous with him. I was worried whether Cheltenham would suit him at all but he has showed he handles the place and everything that comes with it because he is the sort of horse I couldn't guarantee was a certainty."
Reflecting on Whisper's heroic effort, the Seven Barrows maestro said: "Davy [Russell, jockey] did everything right on Whisper. He did exactly what he wanted to do - hunt around. You could see him creeping in there but you thought Might Bite had got away."
Nico de Boinville drove 7/2 favourite Might Bite to a last-gasp victory in the Grade One RSA Novices' Chase to record his second win of The Festival 2017 and his sixth in total.
De Boinville had a clear lead on the Nicky Henderson-trained eight-year-old at the final fence, but an error there was followed by the horse drifting strongly to the right. His stable mate Whisper, ridden by Davy Russell, headed him on the run-in but Might Bite fought back dramatically to score by a nose in a photo-finish.
The jockey said: "I had deja vu there. Might Bite did exactly the same in his hurdle race around here - he saw the entrance to the track where he came in. He was on a perfect stride to the last fence and he's seen that and just lost concentration. He was lugging, trying to get there, and then he saw the loose horse [Marinero] and was like, 'oh right, we are in a race again'. Without that loose horse, I would not have won.
"I thought we'd stand a chance of getting back up because he has such a good turn of foot, but it just depended how fast Whisper was coming. If he had been coming any quicker than that, we wouldn't have won.
"He is like that. He is a thinker but so talented. He jumped for fun and should have won by five or 10 lengths. It is great for the owners and great for the guvnor [Nicky Henderson], who is having a tremendous time of it. I kept the faith with this horse, although I can see why others might not.
"You can just see what a talented horse he is - jumps and travels for fun. He just has his quirks sometimes. You just deal with it and try and make it as easy as you can.
"He's got a huge future. Kempton suits him because the entrance to the track is after the line!"