• Bookmakers leave winner at 12-1 for March target
• Adonis Hurdle the next stop for Paul Nicholls runner
Dildar, who finished fourth to the subsequent Derby winner Pour Moi in a Group Two on the Flat last year, made a successful transition to hurdling at Taunton on Tuesday when he finished a length and a quarter ahead of Sew On Target in a novice event over 17 furlongs. Several of his jumps were less than fluent, however, and Dildar is likely to need further racing experience if he is to line up in the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Dildar's smart form on the Flat, and his subsequent purchase to race for the Paul Nicholls yard, had seen him advance towards the head of the ante-post market for the Triumph without jumping a hurdle in public. His momentum in the betting slowed after Tuesday's race, however, with most bookmakers leaving him unchanged at around 12-1, and 14-1 (from 11-1) on offer with Paddy Power.
The field at Taunton also included another interesting new recruit from the Flat in Alwaary, fourth home in the King George at Ascot in July 2009, but he faded quickly in the straight as Ruby Walsh sent Dildar in pursuit of the leader Sew On Target. The last of several deliberate jumps, at the second-last, stalled his challenge briefly, but he drew alongside at the last and his superior Flat speed made the difference on the run-in.
"It's tacky ground out there and we can get all of his jumping right at home," Nicholls, who saddled Zarkandar to win last year's Triumph Hurdle, said afterwards. "He'll need another run so will go straight to the Adonis at Kempton now."
Nicholls and Walsh completed a double half an hour later when Sanctuaire, the winner of the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle at the Festival in 2010, made all the running to record a comprehensive victory in his first outing over fences.
Sanctuaire has often shown signs of temperament since his easy win at Cheltenham nearly two years ago, and was reluctant to race in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton last time out. Those doubts filtered into the market, and he drifted in the betting for Tuesday's race throughout the day before starting favourite at 13-8, having been an odds-on chance in place a few hours beforehand.
There was no uncertainty about his performance in the race, though, as Sanctuaire took a strong pull from the start and quickly charged into a long lead which he never seemed likely to surrender. He is now top-priced at 25-1 for the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham in March, and as short as 16-1 in places.
"I think that will have done him the world of good, both mentally and physically," Nicholls said. "Once he jumps off, he's very obviously a tool. He was a bit guessy at jumping, but that can improve.
"I did put him in the Arkle and he'd be something to follow round Aintree, but we'll see. I could run him in the Kingmaker at Warwick [later in February] now, or find him another small race."
Trainer and jockey took their winning run on the card to three when another former Group-class performer on the Flat was successful in the card's handicap hurdle. Ted Spread, who took the Chester Vase in 2010, started favourite at 5-4 and quickened seven lengths clear of Pascha Bere. He could now run in either the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle or the County Hurdle at the Festival.
