Not exactly pretty but Willoughby Court gets off the mark on chase debut

To say it was not what connections had expected would be a serious understatement but, despite some alarming moments, Cheltenham Festival winner Willoughby Court emerged victorious on his debut over fences in the 2m4f novice chase.

The fact bookmakers lengthened his odds for another win at Cheltenham in March perhaps sums up the performance best and there were no smiles or high fives as rider Nico de Boinville debriefed trainer Ben Pauling after a hard fought length and a quarter success as the 2-5 favourite.

“Exceptional” and “electric” was the way Pauling had described last season’s Neptune Novices’ Hurdle winner’s schooling, but after blundering his way through the first ditch he became hesitant at his fences and went violently out to the left at times.