Nicky Henderson takes Festival high road on Scottish trials day

The odds-on Tommy Silver won the Scottish Triumph Hurdle Trial for Paul Nicholls

Gitane Du Berlais and Ruby Walsh clear the last fence to land the Opera Hat Mares’ Chase at Naas (Rex Features)

Nicky Henderson had most cause to draw satisfaction from Musselburgh’s trials card, with two Cheltenham Festival-bound winners and a strong endorsement of the claims of his Triumph Hurdle hope Fixe Le Kap.

Three-mile novice hurdle winner O O Seven, who beat the Irish runner Fagan – previously undefeated in three starts under rules – by three-quarters of a length, will contest the Neptune Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Cup Final went to the head of the market for the Pertemps Final after justifying favouritism in the qualifying race. “He probably had to win to get in, so at least he should now,” Henderson said.

The odds-on Tommy Silver won the Scottish Triumph Hurdle Trial for Paul Nicholls, paying a compliment to his Newbury conqueror Fixe Le Kap, who has joined Ivanovich Gorbatov as favourite for the juvenile prize at the Festival after the limitations of Aidan O’Brien’s four-year-old were exposed in the mud at Leopardstown on Saturday.

Henderson’s fortunes yesterday contrasted with another lamentable display the previous day from last year’s Triumph Hurdle winner Peace And Co, who finished a laboured third to another Nicholls four-year-old, Connetable, at Sandown.

“We’ll look at his breathing apparatus,” Henderson said. “I’ve not seen anything else untoward, he might have made a little noise. Peace And Co will come on an awful lot – he was big and burly – but he’ll have to, of course.”

The five-year-old is out to 33-1 for the Champion Hurdle, for which the pretensions of Aristo Du Plessis evaporated as his winning handicap spree ended when he could finish only sixth in the Scottish County Hurdle, won by Shrewd.

In Ireland, the Listed mares’ chase went to Gitane Du Berlais for Willie Mullins, who had saddled three Grade One winners at Leopardstown.