Tidal Bay shines as Long Run falters

The roar that greeted the tenacious Tidal Bay, one of the most idiosyncractic horses in training because of his awkward head carriage, could not have provided a greater contrast to Long Run’s lacklustre 41-length defeat to the unheralded Harry Topper.

After briefly losing interest in the back straight, another characteristic of Graham Wylie’s quirky 12-year-old, Tidal Bay and his young jockey Sam Twiston-Davies – deputising for the injured Daryl Jacob – found themselves full of running heading to the last.

Their only clumsy jump of this three mile-plus contest surrendered the initiative to Alan King’s highly-rated Medinas before the old warrior, the 2008 Arkle winner, surged home on a wave of acclaim from the packed stands to win a second successive bet365 Hurdle.

It prompted trainer Paul Nicholls to declare that Tidal Bay was “better than ever” – and to praise the horsemanship of Twiston-Davies for having the maturity to let the horse do his own thing when the veteran hit his customary flat spot.

An emotional Nicholls suggested the Group One Betfair Chase at Haydock as a possible target – or the Hennessy at Newbury where he would have to carry top weight. The Crabbies Grand National remains the long-term objective for one of National Hunt racing’s most popular equine characters.

“I think he’s probably better than last year, the lads at home say he is, it’s just been a case of finding out how to train him,” he said. “Sam gave him a great ride, he’s a top-class lad.”

Twiston-Davies had been buoyed by his win 35 minutes earlier on young chaser Valco De Touzaine, the rider’s first success for Nicholls who has exacting standards. “Tidal Bay, he’s a national treasure and an absolutely pleasure to ride,” said the 21-year-old.

He still retained his customary enthusiasm after finishing a close third on the Nicholls-trained Unioniste in a pulsating bet365 Charlie Hall Chase that will be remembered for Long Run’s lethargy late on rather than the Jason Maguire-ridden Harry Topper overcoming countless jumping errors of his own before repelling Wayward Prince’s late thrust.

Though Long Run clattered the ditch in the back straight on the second circuit, he briefly headed the seven-runner field before failing to pick up on the turn for home and fading to a weary fifth.

Although jockey Sam Waley-Cohen could offer no explanation for the worst run of the eight-year-old’s career, it later emerged yesterday that the horse scoped badly afterwards and is a major doubt for the Betfair Chase.

A flummoxed trainer Nicky Henderson said the presence of mucus and blood traces in his mouth suggested an infection. “It’s a bit like a human being. You go to bed one night feeling great and then wake up in the morning feeling pretty awful,” he ventured.

As for Harry Topper, he made a mistake at the first, nearly came down at the second, had to pass the whole field on the outer before hitting the front prematurely and nearly being collared on the line. He will have to improve markedly if he is to become a Cheltenham Gold Cup contender, but this horse could carry his resurgent trainer Kim Bailey back to the big time after a period in the doldrums after Master Oats took the 1995 blue riband race.

Newcastle’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle beckons for John Quinn’s Cockney Sparrow after her smart win in the OLGB.com Mares Hurdle under Dougie Costello.

The 8,000-strong crowd who braved squelchy conditions were treated to an AP McCoy double as Gone Too Far and More Of That took him to within six of the 4,000 landmark. The 18-times champion is four short of the target after a double at Carlisle yesterday, but the wait could go on – he only has three scheduled rides at Kempton today.

McCoy was defeated by Bingley trainer Sue Smith’s Cloudy Too in the main chase. The winner could head to the Hennessy if the handicapper does not punish him for this stamina-sapping success that provided Jonathan England with the biggest victory of his career.

Meanwhile Saltburn jockey James Reveley won his first Grade One when Reve de Sivola finished with a flourish to land the £135,000 first prize in the Grand Prix D’Automne at Auteuil. He won another £98,000 when Saint Palois was second in yesterday’s feature at the Paris track.

Pontefract win key to chances of Brown Panther

IF Michael Owen’s Brown Panther wins tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup and becomes the first British-trained winner of ‘the race that stops Australia’, the former footballer will cite the horse’s victory in the Pontefract Castle Stakes in June.

A second successive win in this top race at the West Yorkshire track, the ease of Brown Panther’s win confirmed to Owen, trainer Tom Dascombe and jockey Richard Kingscote that the 2011 St Leger runner-up was ready for globe-trotting challenges.

British and Irish horses won five races at America’s Cup Breeders’ Cup meeting.

Former champion jockey Ryan Moore landed the Filly & Mare Turf on Dank for Sir Michael Stoute before snatching the Turf on Aidan O’Brien’s Magician at the expense of Yorkshire Oaks heroine The Fugue. Her jockey William Buick was disconsolate.

O’Brien’s Juddmonte hero Declaration of War, meanwhile, has been retired after finishing third to Mucho Macho Man in the Classic as Katherine Ritvo became the first female trainer to land the £1.68m jackpot.