Antepost punters will be interested to hear that Paul Nicholls believes dual-Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Master Minded is back to his very best.
The seven-year-old put up one of the most impressive Cheltenham Festival performances of all time when he slammed his opposition in the 2008 Champion Chase but it is hard to argue that he has shown anything like that sort of form since.
The horse has now recovered from a rib injury that has ruled him out for most of the season and he returned to Newbury earlier in the month with an emphatic victory in the Game Spirit Chase. He is now 4/5 with Ladbrokes to land a hat-trick of victories at the world’s most prestigious race meeting and Nicholls thinks he is almost banker material.
"He is looking like he did two years ago and is the best he has been for a long time,” Nicholls explained.
"We found he had a problem after running at Cheltenham in that he had fractured his rib and he wasn't ridden out for six weeks.
"He did 15 miles a day on the walker but I didn't think he would be able to run before Cheltenham.
"However, he progressed so nicely that we ran him in the Game Spirit and he showed his old form.
"I had a nightmare training him last spring as his muscles kept tying up and he wasn't at his best at Cheltenham or Punchestown, despite winning.
"He is now back to his best and I am really looking forward to running him."
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Queen Mother Champion Chase - Ladbrokes
2m, Cheltenham March 2010
4/5 Master Minded, 6 Kalahari King, 6 Twist Magic, 8 Big Zeb, 14 Forpadydeplasterer, 16 Petit Robin, 20 Barker, 25 Golden Silver, 33 Free World, 33 Well Chief, 33 Tranquil Sea, 40 Oh Crick, 50 Cornas, 50 Sizing Europe, 66 bar, others on request (1/4 odds 1,2,3)
