Go Dante produced a perfectly-timed run to repeat his victory of last year in the Betfair Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle at Sandown.

High Point was the last horse to win successive renewals of the two-mile feature in 1952 and ’53 and it looked as though Go Dante (6/1) was up against it as he had failed to figure in six starts since his victory 12 months ago.

Racing off a 2lb lower mark than last year, Olly Murphy’s charge travelled well throughout in the hands of Sean Bowen as Knickerbockerglory set out his stall early but was starting to feel his prior efforts at the penultimate obstacle.

That allowed Afadil to grab the initiative on the run to the final flight, but Bowen was stoking up Go Dante down the middle of the track and he kept finding for pressure.

Afadil was still in front a matter of strides from the line but Go Dante did not waver and claimed the £51,440 first prize by half a length.

Wreckless Eric finished with a flourish between horses to grab second, with Afadil third and Tintintin taking fourth, while favourite Bo Zenith never featured for trainer Nicky Henderson.

Plan paid off

Murphy said: “I’ve learned in a short period of time training you have to have a plan, especially for these bigger handicaps, and thankfully the plan today has paid off.

“I have to thank my team at home and he got a very good ride off Sean. I just feel like me and Sean are really working well as a team – he believes in me and I believe in him – and the last two Saturdays have been £100,000 handicaps that we’ve won together.

“He’s been running in these big handicaps all winter long and lost his mind at Ascot, but then ran a little better at Windsor and was in the process of running well in the old Betfair (William Hill Hurdle, Newbury) before nearly getting brought down.

“He’d slipped to a nice mark and I just thought he was starting to click and he loves this place. I was nervous about the ground otherwise I would have been very sweet on him, but he was fantastic.

“He stays very well over two and staying seems to have won him the race today and I think the ground is slower than anticipated. He was sharp and right for today and he’s picked up a big pot, it’s nice the plan has paid off.

Cheltenham unlikely

A £100,000 bonus is on offer should Go Dante follow up in the William Hill County Hurdle at Cheltenham next week, but Murphy rates a quickfire return unlikely at present.

He said: “He’s had a hard race today, like he did last year, but I confirmed him today and I said to Barbara (Hester, Owner) that he won’t get in unless he was to win. We’ll have to see how he is, but I imagine he probably won’t run. Today was his main target and it is job done as far as I’m concerned.

“He’s been a star for us and he’s won two Imperial Cups and two huge handicaps, but you know what, I still thought he’d reach a higher level than what he’s reached. He was riddled with injuries as a younger horse and I have to thank my assistant who has done all the work and got him spot on for today.”

Bowen said: “It’s an incredible bit of training from Olly and since his run in the Greatwood (at Cheltenham in November), the plan has been to come here today.

“He’s a horse who needs things to go his way and he loves a stiff track and the ground soft. I was more confident today than I was last year and he just went round in the race better, I always felt the winner whereas I didn’t last year.

“The ground was horrific last year and I’m not sure many horses love that, but this was just soft ground which he enjoys and it was a great performance.

“To have him ready for today was brilliant from Olly, but to be honest they haven’t missed a week all season. Fair play, it’s some effort to keep horses in such good nick for so long and hopefully he can keep doing that for the next few seasons.”

Bowen and Murphy’s partnership has reaped plenty of rewards this term, with the rider currently more than 20 winners ahead of his jockeys’ championship rival Harry Skelton.

He added: “It’s amazing really when you’re trying to go for a jockeys’ title and I’ve ridden over 80 winners for Olly this season which is an incredible amount for one yard. You need a yard like his to win a championship and thankfully we’re building numbers now.”

Remarkable finish

Laurens Bay produced a remarkable finish to win the European Breeders’ Fund Betfair ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Final.

The Jamie Snowden-trained gelding had won one of his four previous hurdles, with the bookmakers rating him a 33/1 shot against the likes of 11/4 favourite Belliano.

It looked as though he was going to live up to that outsider’s price throughout much of the two-and-a-half-mile contest, racing way off the pace and with only a couple of rivals behind him turning for home.

However, as eventual placed runners Off The Jury and Meetmebythesea settled down to battle it out in front, Laurens Bay began to stay on from the back of the field.

He was barely in shot as the leaders jumped the final flight but responded to jockey Gavin Sheehan’s every urging on the run to the line, sprinting past runners to emerge on the scene with the winning post in sight.

Laurens Bay grabbed the lead in the final stride, edging a neck verdict over Off The Jury much to the delight of Snowden, who had been delayed by a flat tyre on his journey to the track and had to watch his charge’s incredible run on his phone before eventually making it to the racecourse.

“We’ve had a nightmare and a blow out on the passenger-side rear tyre on the M3 and there were traffic problems so I had to watch it in the car. It was a bit of a nightmare journey but it’s a brilliant result and that’s all that matters,” said Snowden.

“It was me who fixed the flat tyre and as a trainer you are dependent on the team around you and when I was stranded the guys did a wonderful job, they got the horse saddled and ready and here I am rushing in like a scruffy, dusty lunatic!

“It wasn’t exactly the plan to be so far back but he does stay well and he wants soft ground. We ran him at Ascot to qualify in January time and the ground was good and he was completely taken off his feet round Ascot on good ground.

“Today I was worried the ground was drying and the plan was to go forward but Gavin couldn’t really go forward and humoured him around and then hit the hill on the softer ground and has stayed on brilliantly.

“He’s going to be a lovely chaser for next year, he’s a lovely stamp of a horse. Chasing has always been our plan so we’ll enjoy today and he definitely wants softer ground, so I think he will be in the field before too long.”

Sheehan admitted he had thought about pulling up Laurens Bay at one point in the race.

He said: “I was flat out from the word go and never really comfortable and never really travelling. He jumped well to be fair and down the back he started to travel a bit smoother, but then they started to pick up after jumping the last down the back and going to two-out, I was actually thinking about pulling up.

“It wasn’t because he was tired, it was just because he wasn’t travelling, wasn’t happy and I thought the race was gone for me.

“I just kept persevering away and he started to get a bit more competitive and they started to come back in front, then he got a nice jump at the last and the line wasn’t coming quick enough for the ones in front and nearly a bit too quick for me.

“He’s a lovely horse to ride and you are thinking about pulling up because he will be an exciting chaser next season. He’s just come through and he’s probably done it well in the end and all credit to Jamie and his team.”

Bumper winner

Charisma Cat looks to have booked her ticket to Aintree in the spring having regained the winning thread in the British Stallion Studs EBF Mares’ Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race.

A winner on her first two starts, she was somewhat unfortunate to lose her unbeaten record when upped to Listed level at Market Rasen in January, beaten a neck by David Pipe’s Kingston Queen.

However, given another chance in Listed company she confirmed form with Market Rasen third Dream Shadow to land the spoils as the 7/4 favourite.

Trainer Alan King now has his eye on the Grade 2 Goffs Nickel Coin Mares’ Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race at the Grand National Festival, although he would not be averse to a run on the level in the summer.

“She is a little bit unlucky not to be unbeaten and it all went rotten for her leaving the back at Market Rasen and again round here she didn’t seem to handle the bend terribly well, but she’s come back on the bridle and I’m very happy,” said King.

“She wouldn’t want this ground really and it’s hard work out there. It’s just Sandown ground when it starts to dry and I said to Robert (Waley-Cohen, owner) before the race that if it wasn’t a Listed race I wouldn’t have run her, we’d have waited for Aintree. We got away with it.

“We’ve made up for Market Rasen today and we’ve got our win and black type and if we’re happy, we’ll go to Aintree.

“We’ve always loved her and she has a great pedigree – I would love a yard full of Nathaniel’s. We might run her on the Flat in the summer and she has a flattish pedigree. We’ll see and probably she won’t, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing to do.”

Neil Mulholland’s Narragansett (85-40 favourite) showed his quality earlier on the card to oblige favourite backers in the Betfair Racing Podcasts Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.

Considered good enough to be given a Triumph Hurdle entry by his handler, a big leap at the final flight of hurdles gave the youngster the momentum to wear down Gary and Josh Moore’s Galactic Charm and follow up a recent Plumpton success.

“He’s been really good and ran well first time at Market Rasen and was then maybe a little bit too keen at Wetherby, but we tried to hold on to him a little bit today and he did it well,” said Mulholland.

“He jumped well and has improved with racing, he’s done very little wrong, he’s now got two seconds and two wins and is going the right way. I know he needed a good jump at the last, but he got it and I was happy enough when he got there you know.

“He wouldn’t be good enough for the Triumph, so we would look at something like Aintree or Ayr and there’s a race at Ascot as well at the end of the month.”