'It had been a tough couple of years' - Stage Star gives Paul Nicholls first Cheltenham Festival winner since 2020

Paul Nicholls and Harry Cobden bounced back after a humbling couple of days to take the curtain-raising Turners Novices' Chase with a polished front-running performance from Stage Star.

Mighty Potter, second shortest-priced favourite of the week at 4-6, could manage only third, veering to his right under Davy Russell up the run-in after failing to travel and jump with his usual fluency. Notlongtillmay, a 40-1 shot, split them with a gallant effort to be second after following Stage Star around and leading briefly when they swung for home.

A first festival winner for Nicholls since Politologue landed the 2020 Queen Mother Champion Chase, it was Cobden's first since Topofthegame's Brown Advisory victory in 2019. After fancied horses Tahmuras and Hermes Allen were blown out of the water on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Ditcheat team needed this.

"It had been a tough week so far and a tough couple of years," said a relieved Nicholls, who celebrated with his trademark fist-pumping gusto. "It's fantastic to be back here. It's a tough place to win and we haven't quite got the numbers of horses of the Irish battalions, and that's always going to make it hard, but there are some brilliant English trainers who do really well and always will."

Pointing to the equine legions of the big guns coming across the Irish Sea, he added: "I'll probably run 15 or 16 this week and Willie [Mullins] could have that in three races on the first day, so they are always going to be hard to beat. We have just got to do the best we can with the horses we've got and keep building up our string. We'll get back there."

As ever, Cobden excelled. He was allowed to do things at his leisure in front, which is a dangerous position to gift him.

"It was a fantastic ride," said Nicholls. "I just told him to go out today and make all. If you're good enough you'll just keep galloping and he gave him a little breather turning in. I'm absolutely thrilled with that performance."

Harry Cobden celebrates Stage Star's winCredit: Edward Whitaker

The trainer was not rushing to proclaim Stage Star, who returned odds of 15-2, as his next big thing. The Gold Cup bar is set high, and the Ryanair Chase, for which he is now 16-1 (from 33) with Paddy Power, is likely to be the aim in 12 months' time.

"I'd say next year he will probably be a Ryanair horse," Nicholls said of his first winner of this 2m5f novice Grade 1. "He has got plenty of boot and he travels really well. I'm not sure he needs to go the full Gold Cup distance yet; one day he might."

Stage Star arrived after a fine weight-carrying triumph in novice handicap company at the track on Trials day, having had his sights lowered after being beaten at long odds-on at Newbury in November. He had also capitulated here and at Aintree last spring before undergoing breathing surgery, so this victory by three and a half lengths completed his rejuvenation.

"He is a horse we believed in," Nicholls said. "It didn't go to plan last year, but he has come back this year and that's fantastic. It was a good race and he put it to bed really well.

"The last run was really good when he carried a big weight here and won very nicely. He was an improving horse but we needed him to take it to the next level. Today was going to test that."

Mighty Potter failed this particular examination. Russell briefly found himself in a pocket in the straight but when he extricated himself his mount veered to his right, and it never looked as if he would get there. Appreciate It was dropped out and caused some of the favourite's problems when veering left after the second-last fence before finishing a one-paced fourth. 

Gordon Elliott was disappointed with Mighty Potter.

“He didn’t look like he travelled with the same zest today," said Elliott. "At Leopardstown he’d be jumping a fence and you’d be taking him back, here he seemed to be stretching at his fences.

"I thought the winner got a very soft lead but Davy said he was going as quick as he could go. We got beat here last year and he has won three Grade 1s since. We'll get him back home and see where we go from there."

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