Bristol bypasses feature as Romain De Senam strikes again for Nicholls

Two subsequent Cheltenham Gold Cup winners starred on this card 35 years ago, but Bristol De Mai will not be joining Burrough Hill Lad and Forgive 'n Forget in using Stratford as a springboard to jump racing's holy grail, as the ground was deemed too quick for him to run in the £25,000 2m5f feature chase, which was won by the Paul Nicholls-trained Romain De Senam.

Set to be one of the highest-rated horses to run at the course in recent times, Bristol De Mai was withdrawn some 40 minutes before the off time, easing the task of Romain De Senam, who was following up his stroll at Chepstow last week under a 6lb penalty.

Nicholls says there are plenty of options for the emerging five-year-old, "including at Cheltenham next month" with a possible nod to the BetVictor Gold Cup, while his assistant Harry Derham praised the staff at Ditcheat for their role in the success.