Nicky Henderson is best known for his exploits over jumps but the Lambourn trainer has a fine record when he turns his hand to the Flat, too, and saddled No Heretic to land the Betway Chester Cup.
Henderson decided to go racing at Kelso, rather than Chester, but No Heretic produced a gutsy display in his absence to fend off Nakeeta by a short head.
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“That’s only his second run since 2013,” Jamie Spencer, his jockey, said. “To win a Chester Cup is a tremendous training performance. He’s got the job done.
“He’s always been a good horse. He’s just not been sound. The vets have done a great job to get him back.
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“He’s a good jumper at home but we will probably keep him on the Flat and keep that up our sleeve for the autumn. He obviously stays fairly well
“You hold your breath to find out where you’re drawn in this race. If you get a nice draw it makes a lot easier and I’m just delighted.”
“He [Henderson] seemed more interested in his runner in the bumper at Kelso,” Spencer added. “What that tells you about how confident he was I don’t know, but maybe we’ll know more in a couple of hours’ time!”
Henderson, who also saddled a winner at Kelso, said: “He is quite good at home but he can get stewed up about life. I think the hood helped him. We are not hard on him at home, it is just a case of keeping him to a routine.
“He took a long time to learn about jumping, to be fair, as he was always in a bit of a rush.
“We had him in at Newton Abbot today but we thought we would plump for having a go at something more ambitious.
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“He had a very good draw, which helped, and we had to make the most of that.
“I think a lot hinged on how he took the preliminaries as if he got through them he had the ability.
“He run a good race over hurdles at Newbury and he was entitled to get a bit tired as it was his first run on the Flat since 2013.
“He is a good jumper at home now but we will probably keep him on the Flat now and keep that up our sleeve for the autumn. He obviously stays fairly well.
“He was a wounded soldier but it is great to see him come back. He didn’t really settle at all, and I should think he pulled Jamie’s arm-sockets out, but he was still travelling well at three (furlongs) out. Jamie did a great job. He said this morning that he would pull, whether he was at the front or the back.
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“There is the Ascot Stakes but let’s have a look and see first as the owners also have Cardinal Walter, who, although he is in the Swinton Hurdle at Haydock on Saturday, will probably run at York next week.”
The Aidan O’Brien-trained Somehow was a red-hot favourite for the Arkle Finance Cheshire Oaks, but she made hard work of landing the odds by a half-length from Moorside and was generally left at 16-1 for the Investec Oaks at Epsom next month.
