Sir Gino put up a scintillating display to see off Ballyburn in a much-anticipated clash in the Ladbrokes Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase at Kempton Park.
For the second time in two days, the Grade Two contest threw up a mouthwatering clash between two superstars from the powerhouse yards of Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins.
And as was the case in the Christmas Hurdle, in which Constitution Hill saw off Lossiemouth, top honours went to Seven Barrows – and in some style, too.
Sir Gino, so impressive when deputising for Constitution Hill in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on his seasonal reappearance, was the well-backed 8/13 favourite to make a winning debut over the larger obstacles under Nico de Boinville.
Ballyburn, a triple Grade One-winning novice hurdler last season and close to foot-perfect on his chasing debut at Punchestown last month, was a 7/4 chance in the hands of Paul Townend.
The big two dominated for much of the two-mile contest, with Ballyburn initially holding sway before De Boinville gave Sir Gino his head and allowed him to stride on racing down the back straight.
Ballyburn did his best to stay in the race, but Sir Gino kept coming out on top in the jumping stakes and found a gear Ballyburn simply could not live with shortly after the home turn.
Sir Gino had the race in safe-keeping provided he safely negotiated the final fence and he did just that to seal a hugely-impressive seven-and-a-half-length verdict.
De Boinville said: “He was a bit sketchy over the first, but in fairness by the time we turned down the side towards the open ditch, it all clicked.
“He’s so quick back on the ground after taking off that he’s just taking lengths in the air. We knew he had the engine, it was just a case of whether he could put it all together.
“He’s got an enormous engine, but it’s amazing round here as the fences come up really fast and you have to stay and you have to be able to jump at speed and think quickly.
“I’d say he’s exceeded my expectations and I’d say he’s progressed for a fence as well.”
While Sir Gino would have been entitled to head down the Champion Hurdle route following his Fighting Fifth success, Henderson always appeared keen to pursue a chasing career.
He told Racing TV: “I must admit, a couple of months ago Charlie Morlock (assistant trainer) and myself and Nico took him out rather early one morning to have a little look of him over fences. It was in the dark and we thought we’d do it just so everybody didn’t see it, but I promise you by the time we got back, everybody had backed him for the Arkle and they hadn’t even seen it!
“He was very good, so we knew we had the option to switch, and then it became necessary to bring him into the Fighting Fifth because we weren’t ready with the boy from yesterday (Constitution Hill). He came in not as the sub, because he’s a very good horse in his own right, but if they were going to both make it down the Champion Hurdle road, one of them had to beat the other in simple terms.
“We schooled Sir Gino again over fences and he was just the same – he has so much scope. It just seemed the natural thing to do with the (four-year-old) allowance and he’s a genuine two-miler.
“If you remember his first run over hurdles here, he broke six of them! That was my fault because I hadn’t really schooled him properly, I just assumed because he’d come from France over those Auteuil hurdles, he’d jump English ones. It never occurred to me he wouldn’t know what these were and he was terrible, but we schooled him a couple of times after that and he was great.”
Betfair and Paddy Power slashed Sir Gino’s odds for the Arkle at Cheltenham to evens from 11-4 and Henderson plans to give him more match practice between now and the Festival.
He added: “He’s always had a huge amount of talent and this sort of track suits him really well because he’s got a lot of speed.
“I think he has to have another run. You could say ‘what can you teach him?’. Probably not a lot, but you’ve just got to be respecting these things because it is all a little bit too easy for him today.
“This is a lovely place to learn without getting the big tests, which you’re going to get at Sandowns, Ascots and Cheltenhams. They’re different tests and you’ve just got to have your wits about you a little bit more than you need to round here, but this is a great place to start.
“We’ve been very lucky (with two-mile chasers). Altior was brilliant, Sprinter Sacre was just phenomenal and Remittance Man in the good old days was pretty spectacular too.”
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