Best friends fight out nail-biting Imperial Cup finish as Go Dante triumphs for Olly Murphy

Two miles on testing ground were only just enough to separate two friends at the end of the Imperial Cup with Go Dante narrowly denying Faivoir in a titanic finish.

It was a victory to savour for trainer Olly Murphy, whose team have nursed Go Dante back from a broken pelvis and a damaged lung, even if the long wait for a big prize came at the expense of his dear pal Harry Skelton aboard Faivoir. 

The two horses are trained less than 20 minutes apart in Warwickshire and this time fortune favoured Sean Bowen and Murphy, who was winning his second big Saturday pot in as many weekends following Thunder Rock's decisive strike in the Premier Chase at Kelso.

"I’m best friends with Harry and I go racing with him four days a week, so it's a good job I didn't get a lift here with him," the trainer said. "I’m absolutely over the moon to be on the right side of the photo. I'd rather it was someone else than Harry but he's done it to me more than I have to him, so I won't feel too bad.

"It gives me an awful lot of satisfaction. A lot of work has gone into this horse. He broke his pelvis in a Challow Hurdle and we gave him a load of time off, then he had a schooling accident and damaged a lung, which kept him out for another few months. He's massively given me headaches."

Go Dante (left) gets up on the line to beat Faivoir in the Imperial CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

Go Dante has an entry in next week's BetMGM County Hurdle but will not take up the engagement, with Murphy instead prioritising the Grand National festival at Aintree in his quest to build up his yard and challenge the Skelton team – among others – towards the top of the trainers' championship.

"We've had good Saturdays this year and that gets you up to the next level," he said. "I'm disappointed with the team of horses I've got to go to Cheltenham next week. Strong Leader and Thunder Rock will be more suited to Aintree, but you've got to be realistic and we've just won a £100,000 handicap.

"I have a stable jockey that everyone's in awe of, which is another string to my bow. We're not there yet but I don't want it to plateau – it's got to keep going."

While the finish may have had Murphy biting his fingernails, Bowen was adamant he was always going to reel in his rival on the incline to the line.

"That was brilliant," he said. "I travelled well the whole way. I was always confident I'd get Harry, but he gained two lengths on me at the last. I was a bit slow and he absolutely winged it, but we got up in the end and it was a tough performance."

Tenacity is a trait that has served Faivoir well in his career and he could still bid for a repeat victory in the County Hurdle on Friday, with trainer Dan Skelton open to a swift turnaround.

"We might go, we'll see how he is," he said. "When you get that close it's just hard. He knows how to run well in those big hurdles but to get beaten a nose is pretty frustrating – but that's racing."

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