Might Bite to be given chance of showing himself as one in a million

Watch in-depth analysis of the Betway Bowl, won by Might Bite at Aintree on Thursday, and read Andy Stephens' report as the Gold Cup runner-up shrugged off his Cheltenham defeat on Merseyside.

Nicky Henderson’s elusive quest for a Grand National winner will have to wait at least another year but there is more than one way to aim at £1million prize and he will explore another route to seven figures next season with the imperious Might Bite.

The champion trainer withdrew his sole Grand National contender, Gold Present, from the iconic race on Thursday morning after walking the track and finding it too soft for the general 25-1 chance, but ample compensation followed in the afternoon as he scooped three of the four Grade One prizes on the card - in the process extending his lead in the trainers’ championship to beyond £800,000 and all but wrapping up a fifth title.

Daryl Jacob guided We Have A Dream to a smooth success in the Doom Bar Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle and also delivered the mercurial L’Ami Serge with precision in the Betway Aintree Hurdle but it was the middle leg of the Henderson treble, Might Bite, who set the pulse racing with his brilliant display of jumping en route to a seven-length success in the Betway Bowl Chase.

Those who slavishly follow the trends insisted the Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up could not win because in the past ten years no winner or placed horse in the Cotswolds had gone on to score at Aintree. Kauto Star and Denman, no less, had been among the vanquished.

Plenty of others suspected his defeat in the mud at Cheltenham, after a compelling battle with Native River, might have also broken his spirit but those who backed the uneasy favourite, who touched Evens on course before being returned at 4-5, never had an anxious moment as he tracked front-running Bristol De Mai before sauntering past between the last two fences.

Another spring-heeled leap at the final obstacle confirmed there was plenty of energy left in the tank and although Nico De Boinville administered three cracks of the whip in the closing stages they smacked of little more than the adrenaline.

Might Bite’s jumping is something to savour and, bar giving four out a bit of a nudge, he did not touch a twig. Fence makers up and down the country must wish all steeplechasers were so accurate, although they would be out of a job if they were.

Predictably, the winner will now go on holiday but next term, when he will turn ten, he will be more aggressively campaigned.

As a consequence, he will have the Betfair Chase on his agenda before a defence of his King George VI Chase crown and then, God willing, a rematch with Native River in the Gold Cup.

The Jockey Club offer a £1 million bonus to any horse who can pull off the treble, which Kauto Star achieved during his pomp.

BetVictor make Might Bite a tempting 25-1 to emulate him.

The syndicate who own Might Bite, The Knot Again Partnership, are not financially motivated and a tilt at the bonus was considered - and then rejected - this season.

“We caught a heavy ground Gold Cup for the first time in 20-odd years and he’s come up here and shown what a good horse he is,” said Simon Philip, the retired accountant who generally acts as the spokesman for the syndicate.

“The stats were horrible for horses backing up at Aintree after Cheltenham, but he’s gone and done it and Nico said he felt absolutely unbelievable; so fresh and vibrant.”

Philip was originally among a syndicate which called itself Happy Camper and had a share in My Tent Or Yours, sold to JP McManus before he finished runner-up in three Champion Hurdles.

“The decision to sell was not unanimous,” he said. “But we rolled the money over into Might Bite. What a horse he is. He’s just given us so much fun.”

Philip had looked dazed after the Gold Cup but put his sense of deflation into perspective after this romp.

“If someone had said when we started owning him he would be second in a Gold Cup we would have bitten their arms off,” he said.

Bloodstock agent David Minton, who is also part of the owners, added: "The members of this syndicate go back a long way because we started with My Tent Or Yours, who we sold rather well to JP.

“Then we bought a yak of a horse called My Wigham And Yours and one or two people dropped out. This is the third horse and a few people have filled in for the people who dropped out. It has been magic really."

Henderson’s eyes were moist most of the afternoon, not through tears on this occasion but because of the chill in the Merseyside air.

He took great pride in the exploits of all his winners but it was Might Bite who gave the 67-year-old his greatest sense of satisfaction and next season he will attempt to push new boundaries with him.

“That was just an exhibition round of jumping, you won’t see better that that. He was doing crazy things” he said.

"He’s the one that has said to us that he’s been fresh and well the whole way through (since Cheltenham).

“Next year, we will have to be a little bit braver and go to the King George and Gold Cup via the Betfair. We’d love another crack at Native River on good going.”

Tizzard, the trainer of Native River, was also on the mark, via Finian’s Oscar in the Big Buck's Celebration Manifesto Novices' Chase.

Robbie Power gave the six-year-old an inspired ride and, if he has his way, the winner will be campaigned over three miles or more next term.

Might Bite will be waiting for the pair of them.