Former Triumph winner back with a bang

ZAYNAR finally reminded racegoers what they had been missing as a polished display in the Grade Two totepool Novices’ Chase at Ascot provided the grey with his first win for two years yesterday.

Such was the decline towards the end of Zaynar’s time with Nicky Henderson that memories of the 2009 Triumph Hurdle, an Ascot Hurdle and a third-place finish in the Champion itself had begun to be forgotten and owners Men In Our Position decided to send him down to Nick Williams’ stable in Devon.

The regime change did not have an immediate effect, even if the six-year-old was placed in all three of his first tries over fences but this was another performance entirely. One mistake down the back straight aside, Zaynar was virtually foot-perfect, leading throughout to finish nine lengths clear of the other 7-2 co-favourites Kumbeshwar and Frascati Park.