Pic D’Orhy graduates to Grade One glory at Aintree.
Twice a winner at Grade Two level earlier in the season, the eight-year-old was last seen chasing home Thursday’s Aintree Bowl hero Shishkin in the Ascot Chase in February.
Nicholls deliberately sidestepped last month’s Cheltenham Festival to keep his charge fresh for Aintree and was handsomely rewarded as Pic D’Orhy secured his first Grade One success.
Always moving powerfully behind the pacesetting Minella Drama, Harry Cobden’s mount moved to the front between the final two obstacles and soon put clear daylight between himself and his rivals.
Fakir D’oudairies, bidding for a record third victory in the two-and-a-half-mile contest, briefly threatened to throw down a serious challenge approaching the last fence, but Pic D’Orhy showed no signs of stopping and was ultimately good value for the winning margin of four and a quarter lengths.
Nicholls was unable to run Gold Cup runner-up Bravemansgame as planned on Thursday due to an ownership issue and having seen the likes of Stage Star disappoint, the handler thinks some horses that ran at Cheltenham might have been feeling a swift return.