Sire De Grugy steps up to make Moores the merrier

Star burst: Sire De Grugy takes the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown (Getty)

A two-mile Grade One contest over fences without Sprinter Sacre is perhaps akin to the World Cup without Brazil, but that mattered not yesterday to Gary Moore. The West Sussex trainer celebrated the first top-level prize of his 20-year career as the best horse in his yard, Sire De Grugy, made the most of the absence of the best jumper in training to take the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown.

"This is what you get up each day for," said Moore, "and it means the world. It's just so special for everyone involved."

Sire De Grugy, ridden by Moore's son Jamie, came to the last upsides Sprinter Sacre's stablemate Captain Conan and settled the issue with a bold, powerful leap. He maintained his momentum up the testing climb to the finish, chased home at a respectful four lengths by a classy yardstick in Somersby as Captain Conan weakened.

But though the upwardly-mobile seven-year-old presented persuasive enough credentials to be regarded as a credible challenger for second spot wherever the divisional champion turns up, he may not take up that challenge at the Cheltenham Festival and is still a 16-1 shot in some lists for the Queen Mother Champion Chase, compared with Sprinter Sacre's odds of 1-3.

"I think he needs a more conventional track than Cheltenham," said Moore Snr of the French-bred chestnut. "I know I'm going to have to take on Sprinter Sacre at some point, but I'd perhaps rather do it at somewhere like Kempton or Ascot." Sprinter Sacre, currently sidelined by a mild infection, may make his delayed seasonal reappearance at Kempton's Christmas meeting.

The former champion trainer Paul Nicholls leapfrogged Jonjo O'Neill to the top of the trainers' leaderboard with a cross-track five-timer from Unioniste and Rebel Rebellion at Aintree and Saphir Du Rheu, Hinterland and There's No Panic at Sandown.

Hinterland is now among the favourites for the Arkle Trophy, the two-mile novices' decider at the Festival, after his narrow, but decisive, defeat of Grandouet in the Henry VIII Novices' Chase, a race won in the previous three seasons by Captain Conan, Al Ferof and Somersby.

At Aintree, the two contests over the Grand National fences – the Becher Chase, won by Grand National-bound Chance Du Roy, and the Grand Sefton, taken by Rebel Rebellion, produced five fallers from 38 runners. Sadly, Plein Pouvoir suffered a fatal injury, a broken elbow, when he fell four fences from home when tailed off in the latter race.