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Monmiral added a second British success to the Thursday tally with victory for Paul Nicholls and Harry Cobden in the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle.
The day had started well with a success for the Skelton brothers and Grey Dawning in the Turners Novices' Chase and it was the turn of Dan Skelton's old boss Paul Nicholls to add a British point to the Prestbury Cup tally. A 25/1 shot for the race, Monmiral had not recorded a success since Grade 1 glory at Aintree in 2021 and was last seen finishing fourth on heavy ground at Chepstow.
Prairie Dancer set the early pace under J J Slevin with Monmiral always settled in the midfield by jockey Harry Cobden. The gelding proved his class up the Cheltenham hill, staying on comfortably for a one-and-a-quarter length success over Kyntara with favourite Cuthbert Dibble back in third. Bold Endeavour and Emitom completed a British top-five in fourth and fifth.
The victory marked a first Festival winner for Sir Alex Ferguson who said: "I've waited a long time for this, but it is fantastic. The jockey was absolutely brilliant on him. What I was thinking at the tapes was, 'What the hell is he doing at the back', but he crept forward and judged it perfectly. I couldn't understand why before he came to the last why John [Hales] was saying he had won, but that is experience for you. I was just saying, 'Just jump the bloody last!'
"It has been probably 20 years that I've wanted to have a winner here as when I first started [in racing] I just had Flat horses and no National Hunt ones. I got interested in the jumps with Ged [Mason] and John [Hales]. It 100 per cent makes it more enjoyable having a winner with friends. Everyone looks forward to Cheltenham, while on the Flat you have the Derby. These two events are unsurpassed."
Trainer Paul Nicholls added: "This horse has loads of ability. We have been trying to make a chaser out of a hurdler, but he didn't like it. I thought I would qualify him at Chepstow two weeks ago, and he actually needed the run that day as he hadn't really finished a race for a long time. Freddie [Gingell] rode him the other day and said that he thought he might have won at two [hurdles] out but he blew up. He said to try him in blinkers and I listened to what he said. Whether they have made a difference I don't know, but he has obviously come back to himself a little bit.
"I said to Harry, 'Give him plenty of daylight as he doesn't need to be boxed in', and he gave him a beautiful ride.
"The horse has always wanted a trip, but he has always wanted a trip since he was a youngster. He has had small problems which hasn't helped us, but he has been a real head-scratcher. It is great for his owners and the whole of my team to get a winner here."
