McCoy and Binocular focus their sights on Hurricane Fly at Festival

Even jockey AP McCoy, miraculously in the saddle after a bone-crushing fall at Newbury 24 hours previously, was relatively pleased with the Kingwell Hurdle win at Wincanton, although he says reigning champion Hurricane Fly is still the one to beat.

The manner in which the JP McManus-owned horse pulled effortlessly clear of the Paul Nicholls stalwart Celestial Halo, second in the 2009 Champion Hurdle, suggested Binocular may finally be over a series of niggling injuries and training setbacks that have seen many, McCoy included, question his temperament.

This victory was more fluent than his Grade One win in Kempton’s Christmas Hurdle on Boxing Day.

After the eight-length win, McCoy, the 16-times champion, said: “He could have won on the bridle but I actually wanted him to have a blow as well and he quickened away nicely from the last.

“His jumping is always pretty good. I was very happy with him and he showed he was in good form.

“Hurricane Fly is going to be very hard to beat at Cheltenham, but I was able to do what I wanted to do on him.”

Given how Binocular has been singularly unimpressive in past prep races for Cheltenham, he goes into this year’s Festival in the best possible shape.

A day after Henderson’s Long Run and Sprinter Sacre completed their respective Gold Cup and Arkle preparations with warm-up victories at Newbury, this was another red-letter day for the Lambourn handler.

Binocular’s victory came less than an hour after Riverside Theatre recorded successive wins in the Grade One Betfair Ascot Chase, and he is the new ante-post favourite for the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham – the middle-distance championship for steeplechasers.

He read the script well. Part-owned by actor Jimmy Nesbitt, and named after a theatre in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, the horse has not raced since fracturing a pelvis shortly after winning last year’s renewal.

Yet Henderson is a master at preparing horses after a prolonged lay-off; his Burton Port so nearly defeated Long Run at Newbury following an even longer absence.

Henderson’s only disappointment was RSA Chase hope Bobs Worth losing to Alan King’s Invictus – it was not form to suggest that he can beat ante-post favourite Grands Crus.

And ironically it was Tom Scudamore, the regular partner of Grands Crus, who earned ride of the day plaudits when driving home the injury-plagued, but high-class Massini’s Maguire in the handicap chase.

This most fragile of horses, a Cheltenham winner back in 2007 when he beat Tidal Bay, was only having his third run since 2009 and holds an eye-catching Grand National entry.

Henry Brooke stretched his lead to eight in this season’s title race for conditional riders when Bourne won Ascot’s valuable handicap hurdle.

It took the Middleham rider to the 34-winner mark for the season – eight clear of David Bass, who can call upon Nicky Henderson’s firepower.

Brooke’s three pound weight allowance was crucial – Bourne only had to carry 9st 11lb and the jockey produced his mount with a superbly-timed run to sluice home in the mud at 14-1 for trainer Donald McCain.

It was a special day for McCain, the Grand National-winning trainer, at Ascot for he won the opener with the front-running Super Duty who was given a sublime ride by in-form Sam Thomas to repel odds-on favourite Keys from the Henderson yard.

At Haydock, Welsh National winner Giles Cross fended off Neptune Collonges to win the Grand National Trial, with Chepstow hero Le Beau Bai third.