Elliott holds the key with thrown-in Graded chaser

After the Hennessy yesterday there can be little doubt now that last year's National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival was a good deal stronger than the RSA.

Native River, who was second in the four-miler, showed great courage and tenacity to hold on at Newbury and we shouldn't forget how well Minella Rocco ran under a massive weight at Cheltenham recently either.

Throw in the fact that Vicente went on after the Cheltenham race to win the Scottish National and it's pretty clear that the National Hunt Chase represents rock solid form.