'He might have been lucky twice' - Chantry House takes advantage once again

Poor Chantry House. He is a hugely talented chaser who has achieved a rare Cheltenham and Aintree Grade 1 double, yet both times the talk has been about a fallen rival.

In the Marsh Novices' Chase, the tumble taken by supposed Irish banker Envoi Allen and the thousands of bets that lost received just as much coverage as the winner's gutsy defeat of stablemate Fusil Raffles.

Three weeks on and stepped up to 3m1f in the Betway Mildmay Novices' Chase, he doubled his tally of top-level successes with a 32-length romp under Nico de Boinville.

But that does not tell the story of a race in which the Kim Bailey-trained Espoir De Romay took a step up in class in his stride, jumping boldly in front, having most of the field on the stretch some way out and still holding a two-length lead when coming down at the second-last fence.

Who would have won? Watch the closing stages of the Mildmay Novices' Chase

"I suppose you have to say he might have been lucky twice," said Chantry House's trainer Nicky Henderson. "I hope he hasn't used his luck up because I hope he's got a long and bright future in front of him."

Asked whether he thought he would have won anyway, the trainer admitted: "I can't really say. Nico was reasonably confident that he was creeping to the other horse but I felt very sorry for Kim because his horse had put up a very good exhibition and set a very strong gallop."

Races such as the King George VI Chase could be on the agenda next season now that the winner has shown he stays the trip.

"The object of the exercise was to find out whether he was a three-mile horse and they've gone a good enough gallop there to prove that that is what he wants," Henderson said.

"Any horse that can come to Cheltenham and follow up here has got to be pretty good and he's got a great temperament, a lovely attitude to life. He's a very good horse."

Chantry House produces a big jump in the early stages of the Mildmay Novices' ChaseCredit: Jonathan Grossick

Bailey was left wondering what might have been with Espoir De Romay, who had won a handicap at Leicester on his previous start.

The trainer said: "You couldn't say we'd have won but it's frustrating. He's a lovely horse and hopefully he's all right tomorrow morning. He seems fine afterwards.

"He's a big baby and we hoped he would be good enough to come here and it looked like we might have been right. I think that'll be it for this season and we'll step up again next term.

"He's a talent but we've known that all season. He's 155-rated and they aren't going to drop him for that, and he's still only a baby. But so long as he's safe and sound tomorrow we live to fight another day."

Jockey David Bass added: "I can't say we would have won but we were going well enough. He just knuckled on landing but he's a very good horse to be going forward with.

"He's still very raw and green and has so much to learn but it's annoying as he might have gone close in a Grade 1."

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