Judge calls dead-heat in the Betfair Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle.

To the naked eye, Henderson's mare looked to have just got the better of Not So Sleepy in a driving finish passing the post, but the they could not be split in the photo

Not So Sleepy ridden by Jonathan Burke (right) after finishing in a photo finish with Epatante ridden by jockey Aidan Coleman at the end of the Betfair Fighting Fifth Hurdle during the Fighting Fifth Hurdle Day at Newcastle Racecourse.

Defending champion Epatante and the mercurial talent that is No So Sleepy shared the honours after the judge called a dead-heat in the Betfair Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle.

Nicky Henderson's 2020 Champion Hurdle heroine Epatante made a brilliant reappearance in the Gosforth Park feature 12 months ago, but subsequent defeats at Kempton, Cheltenham and Punchestown meant she returned to Gosforth Park with a point to prove.