The Dellercheckout makes first downpayment on sales price for Hales and Nicholls

Big-money purchase The Dellercheckout finally went some way to living up to his lofty price tag when making every yard to take the feature novice handicap chase.

The six-year-old cost owner John Hales £260,000 at the Cheltenham sales in 2017 and was posting his first success since taking an Irish point-to-point, proving too good under Bryony Frost for Whoshotwho.

Winning trainer Paul Nicholls was astounded by the improved performance and put it down to first-time headgear, saying: “Apart from See More Business, who won the 1999 Cheltenham Gold Cup, I've never seen a horse so transformed by the fitting of blinkers for the first time.