2019 Triumph Hurdle hero Pentland Hills back with a bang after 927-day layoff

Friday: Haydock

High-class hurdler Pentland Hills made a successful return to action by winning the 1m6f handicap on his first start since the 2020 Champion Hurdle.

The two-time Grade 1 winner made the most of racing off a Flat mark of 69 to gain a hard-fought short-head victory under Sean Levey, who claimed a double on the card on his return from an enforced eight-day absence.

Pentland Hills, who won the Triumph Hurdle and the 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree in 2019 for the Owners Group syndicate, was found to have a tendon injury in the summer of 2020 and plans to run him on the Flat this summer were put back due to the prevailing fast ground.

The Nicky Henderson-trained seven-year-old showed his will to win remains intact when coming with a late run to deny Red Derek on the line.

A return to more familiar surroundings could await Pentland Hills, with a debut over fences in the pipeline.

Ryan Bliss, assistant racing manager of Owners Group, said: "He was thrown in on his Flat mark, but any horse does very well to win after that time off and he had to dig deep.

"He had a school there over fences last week and hopefully we can enjoy the winter with him.

"He's not very big but he's always been an athletic jumper and I'd imagine next time you see him will be novice chasing, unless Nicky's inclined to run again on the Flat."

Pentland Hills and Sean Levey return to the winner's enclosureCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Pentland Hills started his career on the Flat, winning two of his 11 starts for trainer Chris Wall, and was having his first run in the code for exactly four years.

Levey said: "That was fantastic, he was the utmost professional. He seemed to be keen in his races but he travelled along beautifully back on the Flat and was very competitive at every stage of the race.

"I thought he was impressive for a horse who has had so much time off. He may be a little bit well-treated on the Flat but he's a nice horse."

Replays, results and analysis

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