TONY COMES OUT ON TOP

NICKY HENDERSON’S Cheltenham plans are looking far more complex than John Terry’s love life but at least Topsham Belle gave him a steer at Wincanton yesterday.

Even then he had the brilliance of champion jockey Tony McCoy to thank for the 1-4 favourite’s half length victory from Over The Flow. 

McCoy was niggling at her a long way out compared to Nathan Sweeney’s comfortable seat on Over The Flow. 

But McCoy doesn’t do defeat if he feels there’s more in the tank and he rousted Topsham Belle to challenge and lead approaching the last where she blundered away her narrow advantage. 

Even then McCoy conjured out another effort to land the spoils. “McCoy’s got her home there, it was phenomenal,” gasped Henderson’s assistant Tom Symonds. 

“She has an entry in the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham, but there is also the EBF Final at Newbury. We have quite a few in that.” 

With loads of Cheltenham possibles still waiting for a Cheltenham prep, Henderson is having to cast his net far and wide for suitable races.  

And as Barry Geraghty and Tony McCoy are likely to be stationed at Sandown tomorrow, he will be busy finding riders for his mighty Doncaster team. 

One of the more interesting Sandown possibles is Triumph Hurdle favourite According, who is also engaged at Musselburgh on Sunday, when the trainer himself expects to be present. 

“Nicky is wondering where all the money for him has come from,” said Symonds, who warned punters that the former Freddie Head inmate had plenty to prove. 

“He’s a little grey horse who does everything well, but we’ve seen all this hype before,” he counselled. 

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