Cheltenham off the agenda as Sutton Place keeps winning

His victory in the Limestone Lad Hurdle at Naas in January had raised the possibility of the Gordon Elliott-trained Sutton Placebeing a supplementary entry for next month's Stan James Champion Hurdle, but a more workmanlike performance under Barry Geraghty after stepping up in trip in the Grade 2 Ladbrokes Ireland Boyne Hurdle led to connections ruling him out of the festival.

Results and analyses

Sutton Place was tackling this 2m5f trip for the first time and, despite some jumping that was less than fluent, he eventually got on top after the last. But it was the manner in which he pulled clear of stable companion De Plotting Shed that was the most impressive aspect of the performance.