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Paul Nicholls believes Zarkandar can be considered an unlucky loser in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The staying hurdler made a mistake and though he recovered, he could only finish third behind winner Cole Harden and stablemate Saphir Du Rheu, who was second.

Nicholls said: "Zarkandar was travelling really well but he lost any chance when he made a mistake and I think he is dead unlucky.

"Saphir Du Rheu travelled extremely well but you can see why he's a chaser as he just lacks a gear on that ground."

Rebecca Curtis was more than satisfied with At Fishers Cross' effort in fourth under Tony McCoy.

She said: "He has run a blinder and it's nice to see him finish his race today. I think he bumped into trouble a couple of times and AP said if he knew he was going to finish like that, he would have had him a bit handier.

"It's nice to see him back to his best. The blinkers have done him no harm and and there's no reason why he won't go to Aintree as long as he's fine next week.

"The ground was probably quick enough for him today."