Chief masters off-key Minded

Master Minded suffered a shock reverse on his return to action as Well Chief ran out an emphatic winner of the Connaught Chase at Cheltenham.

Dual Champion Chase hero Master Minded was sent to the head of affairs virtually from flag-fall by Ruby Walsh, but Timmy Murphy was always in his slip-stream on the notoriously-fragile Well Chief, who was in receipt of 10lb from the 4-7 favourite.

With Newmill getting into it going to three out, the writing looked on the wall as Well Chief (11-4) began to assert swinging into the home straight.

Master Minded faded disappointingly into third after the last as Mahogany Blaze ran on to take second, a length and a quarter in arrears.

Murphy said: "I'm delighted for the horse, he deserved that.

“Obviously we were getting 10lb off Master Minded and he has jumped pretty well on the whole and handled the ground well.

“It’s a different task again come March but if we didn’t beat him (Master Minded) today we weren’t going to beat him in March.

“Jon Lower rides him out every day and David (Pipe) has done a fantastic job. This is the first year for a while they’ve had a clear run with him since he came back in from grass.

“He feels a million dollars.”

Pipe said: “Horses like him do not come round very often and he has been plagued with leg problems.

“It’s a dream come true to have a horse like this and he was doing it effortlessly.

“I didn’t know if he was going to keep going or not but he did and he’s done it easy. He’s very special.”

Delighted winning owner David Johnson added: “He was fit and well and getting 10lb from Master Minded, which gave us a squeak.

“Whether Master Minded has run his race I don’t know but it looks like he was won fair and square.

“He jumped well and Timmy was always going to take the inside. It looked to me that Master Minded was lugging out to the right a bit so we came to the inside and put it to him at the top of the hill.

“He found a lot from there and he is a star really.”

Paul Nicholls said of Master Minded: "For some reason he was just hanging right-handed and we will have to find out why.

“Funnily enough after he won at Sandown a long time ago Ruby said he wanted to go right-handed and wouldn’t be suited by Cheltenham, but we got over that.

“He has needed the run today, he’s having a blow, and he won’t have to give 10lb away again. We’ll have to see what happens in the Tingle Creek, but the concern is his hanging right-handed.”