Al Dancer cut for Arkle following smooth win on chasing debut for Twiston-Davies

Last season's Betfair Hurdle scorer Al Dancer made a winning start to his chasing career when storming four lengths clear up the hill from Not That Fuisse at Cheltenham.

The Nigel Twiston-Davies trained grey, who finished down the field in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle in March, went off a well-supported 11-10 favourite and, barring a slight error at the third, jumped fluently under Sam Twiston-Davies.

The winning rider told Racing TV: "There was just the one touch on the way round but luckily he learned from it. We got into a good rhythm and he'll improve a good deal for it. With that experience under his belt hopefully he'll keep going forward.

"He's always been tough and the nice thing with him is he'll stay a little bit further so a fast-run two miles is ideal. He got the job done today and, while you're a bit nervous about coming here for your first time over fences he jumped the tricky fences well."

Al Dancer: cut for the Arkle after his clear-cut victoryCredit: Edward Whitaker

Getaway Trump, a classy hurdler in his own right, looked the chief danger turning into the straight but faded to finish third of the four runners with Not That Fuisse staying on for second.

Boylesports cut the six-year-old to 14-1 (from 20s) for the Racing Post Arkle in March, while Betway remained unchanged at 20-1.

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