Henderson forced to pitch Tent elsewhere but wins with second string

Nicky Henderson and 3,500 racegoers went to Kempton hoping to see My Tent Or Yours make a winning start to the campaign, but in the end the only glimpse they got of the Champion Hurdle runner-up was a sight of him walking around the parade ring.

The trainer, owner JP McManus and jockey Barry Geraghty still won the Listed hurdle they had targeted for My Tent Or Yours, though understudy Hargam made heavy weather of repelling Court Minstrel.

While Henderson will now look at the Betfair Price Rush Hurdle at Haydock on November 19 and the Stanjames.com Fighting Fifth Hurdle for My Tent Or Yours a week later, options were less clear for Hargam, third in the 2015 Triumph Hurdle in which the stable had the 1-2-3.