Nusret sinks home team hopes for the Triumph with Adonis win

Britain's faint hopes of landing the JCB Triumph Hurdle at next month's Cheltenham Festival were all but extinguished in the Grade 2 Coral Adonis Juvenile Hurdle, as Irish raider Nusret came out on top for Joseph O'Brien and Daryl Jacob.

The winner does not even hold an entry in the festival Grade 1 but capitalised on a last-flight blunder by Perseus Way to register a length-and-a-quarter success in the colours of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.

"He's a lovely horse," said Jacob. "I thought his Punchestown win in November was very good. He did a few things wrong that day but still came out on top in a tidy race.

"The ground was a little bit soft for him on his last two starts and coming back to a sounder surface has definitely helped."

If Nusret were to run at Cheltenham, it would be in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, but Jacob did not seem overly enthusiastic about that challenge, with the winner more suited to going right-handed.

"He did finish third to Lossiemouth going left-handed at Leopardstown, but if you had your choice you'd be going right-handed," said the winning rider.

Scriptwriter, Britain's shortest-priced contender for the Triumph going into the race and sent off the 6-4 favourite here, proved a bitter disappointment back in sixth, leaving trainer Milton Harris scratching his head.

"We haven't run our race for whatever reason but he hasn't coughed or anything," said Harris.

"We'll get him home and there's no point rushing to conclusions, but he looked legless to me."

Solo hands Nicholls 15th Pendil win

Three years after Solo made an explosive British debut in the Adonis, the Paul Nicholls-trained seven-year-old put in a similar performance to land the Grade 2 Coral Pendil Novices' Chase from the front.

Victory handed Nicholls his 15th win in the contest, and while Solo may have failed to live up to his Adonis win previously, the champion trainer is confident the best is still to come.

"He's just needed plenty of time and has had a few issues with his breathing," said Nicholls. "After Boxing Day we recauterised his palate, which has obviously helped him and that was very good today."

With no entries at the Cheltenham Festival, Solo is likely to head for Aintree next for the Grade 1 Manifesto Novices' Chase.

"I thought we might have been two weeks off his best today and he might just improve for the run," said Nicholls, who added another member to his Aintree team when Rubaud took the Grade 2 Sky Bet Dovecote Novices' Hurdle.

He added: "I probably should have put the hood on Rubaud the other day at Newbury where he was far too keen. There's no point going to Cheltenham with him, that would be a step too far, and we'll head to Aintree. The track should suit him very well and we'll step him up to a Grade 1 [for the Top Novices' Hurdle] and have a crack at that."

Harry Cobden and Solo aren't for catching in the PendilCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Emotional win

Mark Of Gold registered an emphatic and emotional win in the 2m5f handicap hurdle as he carried the colours of Stevie Fisher and friends to a 14-length success.

A former farrier, Fisher suffers from locked-in syndrome after suffering a stroke in 2014 but has managed to write a book, Blinkin’ ‘Ell, despite his only means of communication coming through his left eyelid and a special computer that turns his blinks into writing. He also sourced Mark Of Gold from Richard Hannon's yard.

Fisher's wife Geraldine said: "It's a dream really. My husband found the horse all via text to Gary Moore because he can't speak. Richard Hannon played a part in it too and the horse has exceeded all expectations.

"Stevie will be sitting in bed watching and it's really emotional. He'll be gutted he can't be here and be gutted he can't put a load of money on him because he loves to bet, but he'll be as thrilled as he ever can be in the situation he's in.

"It's incredibly emotional and something we really needed right now. Stevie is really unwell and it's a tough time. It's a little bit of light in a dark tunnel at the moment."

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