Petit Robin ready for Champion Chase

Petit Robin will be out to derail Master Minded in Wednesday’s Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase but Nicky Henderson admits the runner-up spot is really the best he can achieve.

Henderson’s useful six-year-old won very easily in a Newbury handicap but was destroyed by the country’s top-rated chaser in the Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot.

Asked if Petit Robin was racing for second place, Henderson said: “Technically yes. AP (McCoy) rode Master Minded and has ridden my horse and I think he suspects that is what we are doing.

“But you go back to the good old adage ’never be frightened of one’, and there’s a lot of prize money.

“We have got to try to take him on. He beat us well and truly at Ascot, we have got a bit of weight to come and my only hope is that he might be slightly better left-handed.

“There’s £90,000 to be second, so a lot of reason to be there. We will ride him to win the race. There’s no point going out there to concentrate on being second, let’s try to beat him.”

Master Minded is trading around 2-7 at this stage, with Petit Robin a rather more generous 14-1.