SPRINTER SACRE WIPED the floor with the rest of the field in the Sportingbet Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown on Saturday afternoon.
While trainer Paul Nicholls had insisted that the two-mile Grade One encounter would be a closely fought battle between Sanctuaire and Nicky Henderson’s star, it could not have been a more one-sided affair.
Sanctuaire, under the guidance of Ruby Walsh, had opened up an advantage of around ten lengths at the far side of the track, but Barry Geraghty had halved Walsh’s advantage by the first of the Railway Fences.
Sprinter Sacre was alongside Sanctuaire when the pair reached three from home and the winner barely broke sweat as the final two fences proved no obstacle whatsoever.
It was a phenomenal showing from the six-year-old.
Distant second went to Kumbeshwar, who managed to pass the ailing Sanctuaire late in the race.
Henderson said: “He has got the ’wow’ factor. It’s been a long time since Aintree and I admit to being petrified about Sanctuaire.
“I knew that horse had got pace and would put it into the race which would stretch anybody and it was as soft as our fellow would ever want to go on.
“He’s just class isn’t he?
“I knew that I had something a bit special and I just wanted it to stay that way. That’s as good a two-mile chaser as you’ll ever see.
“He will probably go for the Victor Chandler and Cheltenham, I don’t know for sure, but there aren’t that many options and then on to Aintree or Punchestown.”
