Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
River flows to win
NATIVE River claimed his first victory since his 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup win w it h a dom i na nt frontr u n n i ng d i splay i n t he Virgin Bet Price Boosts Many Clouds Chase at Aintree.
Just four runners went to post for a Grade Two contest that promised a fascinating rematch between the Colin Tizzard-trained Native River and Nicky Henderson’s Might Bite, who fought out an epic finish to the blue riband at Prestbury Park in March, 2018.
The big two went toe to toe from flag-fall but the contest was effectively over after just four fences, with Might Bite blundering and unseating Nico de Boinville, leaving 5-6 favourite Native River in splendid isolation, with Black Corton and Outlander never in contention.
From that point Native River jumped well in the main, pursued by the riderless Might Bite.
And despite Richard Johnson easing him down to a trot on the run-in, the chestnut gelding still came home with 33 lengths in hand.
The champion jockey said: “The blinkers might have sharpened him up a little bit but he just definitely felt much more his old self.
“Last year he only ran three times, really well in three big races. But there was a bit more spark about him today, so it was great.
“Might Bite obviously went early, and it’s good to see they were OK.
“Again, he just had a bit more zip about him.
“The Cheltenham Festival is the obvious main target but I’m sure he’ll have a couple more runs between now and then.”
Owner Garth Broom was asked about the Grand National, and said: “We’re not ruling it out.
“The race for him now is the Welsh National.”