Shock at the start as Shishkin refuses to race at Ascot

The race that was billed as a rematch proved to be anything but as Pic D'Orhy took top honours in the Nirvana Spa 1965 Chase after Shishkin refused to start.

The six-time Grade 1 winner was sent off the 8-13 favourite to score on his seasonal debut after Nicky Henderson opted to avoid Haydock's Betfair Chase, but the trainer and jockey Nico de Boinville were left nonplussed after Shishkin planted his feet at the start.

The last time he and Pic D'Orhy had met the outcome was vastly different as Shishkin powered to a 16-length victory in February's Ascot Chase, inflicting his rival's sole defeat of last season.

Nine months later, the winning margin was the same but it was the Shelia Lewis-trained Straw Fan Jack who claimed second, with Henderson left searching for answers and fearing a repeat performance in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day.

"It's hard to tell you anything," Henderson said. "Nico was totally in the dark too. He jumps off every day, he's a quirky character but he's never turned his head.

"He was in a mood today and he wasn't for moving. He'd still be there now if he had his way. I can do no more. I can't read his head and my biggest concern is if this was ever going to be repeated, Kempton is not the place to try it.

"I don't know what to do and I'm not sure where you can go with him. I've got to find where there's an open handicap, as there are no conditions races for him. I could have a racecourse gallop instead of a prep run but that start at Kempton worries me."

How the incident unfolded

While the absence of Shishkin was a boon for the eventual winner Pic D'Orhy, his wide-margin success felt anything but assured on the turn for home when the outsider Straw Fan Jack drew alongside under Sean Houlihan.

Harry Cobden, who was claiming the second of his four wins on the card and riding at the Berkshire track rather than on Bravemansgame at Haydock, said: "When you're riding in a £70,000 race you don't want the favourite to jump off, so while it's unfortunate to not have a proper horse race, from my perspective we were better off without him.

"I'm happy that our horse has got it done today but I don't think he was anywhere near his best. He didn't really travel early but he felt good beforehand. When I turned in we had Straw Fan Jack upsides us and I thought it might get ugly, so I tried to get the race put to bed before the second last, and he was just hanging up the straight a bit.

"At the end of the day, he's got the job done. He's been a lot better than this in the past and there's loads of improvement in him."

Pic D'Orhy was cut to 14-1 (from 20) for the King George but the eight-year-old is unlikely to head to Kempton, with his trainer Paul Nicholls keen to keep him apart from last year's winner Bravemansgame.

"I think the King George is very unlikely," said winning owner Johnny de la Hey. "The ideal route would be to come back here and try to win the Ascot Chase and go to Aintree.

"The Peterborough Chase probably comes too quickly and I'd be interested in the Savills Chase, which he has an entry for. It would be very competitive though, so I'd probably be 50-50."

Shishkin's refusal to race was Straw Fan Jack's gain, and the grey finished second at 40-1 ahead of Minella Drama.

"He was a little bit ring rusty because he hasn't run since April, but I'd say there's a bit of improvement in him still," said Houlihan.

"It's great – we threw him in the deep end to see how he'd go, and hopefully he can compete in this grade or some of those top-end handicaps going forward."

The raceday stewards deemed Shishkin a runner in the race but Coral refunded all bets on him, while Paddy Power and Betfair Sportsbook were refunding them as free bets.

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