Twist Magic gives Paul Nicholls strong hand in Champion Chase with Ascot success

Denman versus Kauto Star is no longer the only clash of Paul Nicholls-trained horses that will have punters arguing with each other between now and the Cheltenham Festival. Twist Magic was a stylish and emphatic ­winner of the Victor Chandler Chase here and, in the words of his trainer, is "right in the mix" for the Champion Chase, for which his stablemate Master Minded is favourite. Nicholls had said beforehand that he felt Twist Magic was in better ­condition, physically and mentally, than when beaten by Tamarinbleu in the same race two years ago. But this victory was needed to dispel a number of doubts that have accumulated around the chaser, who has turned in miserable efforts in the past two runnings of the Champion Chase. There now appears much less reason to question his consistency, his resolution and his ability to see out two miles in a top-class race on a stiff track. "Everything about him is different," Nicholls said. "To be a real champion chaser, to me, he had to win today. If he didn't today, that was out. He's put four great runs together now and one on a track that I think doesn't suit him, so that puts him right in the mix. Mentally, he's been right, that's the thing. January, he usually looks absolutely terrible, today he looked fantastic." Last season, Twist Magic became so mulish that he would sometimes refuse to join the rest of the string on the ­gallops. Nowadays, he works on his own and appears to be a happier horse for the change in routine, though Nicholls speculated that the improvement may also have been caused by the resolution of some physical problem which he has been unable to detect. The eight-year-old is now a best price of 6-1 for the Champion Chase, while Master Minded is 7-4. But even after Twist Magic's 12-length triumph here, those odds would not be so close if his stablemate were in the peak of health. "If Master Minded is at his very best, there's not a lot that would be a match for him, but he's got to come back from problems," said Nicholls, alluding to the broken rib that was discovered at the beginning of last month. The ­reigning champion has continued to impress Nicholls with the pace of his recovery, including when sent up a hillside gallop three times this morning. "If I can, I will run him in the Game Spirit [at Newbury on 13 February], just to see where we are with him, because otherwise we're going into ­Cheltenham in the dark and it'll be nice for his ­confidence for him to have a run." Twist Magic was chased home by Petit Robin, whose trainer, Nicky ­Henderson, had a disappointing day by his ­standards. Still, he put a brave face on the defeat ­suffered by Punjabi in Haydock's ­Champion Hurdle Trial. "Barry [Geraghty, who rode Punjabi] says don't worry about it," the trainer reported, "because he wants a really stiff two miles. Barry said, you get him back to Cheltenham and you'll see him." Henderson hopes that one more prep run, in the Kingwell at Wincanton on February 20, will bring the notoriously stuffy Punjabi to peak condition for the defence of his title. Medermit, who ­galloped four lengths clear of him , will go straight to the Champion Hurdle, for which both horses are 16-1. "We can dream now, but I'm just thrilled with today," said Medermit's trainer, Alan King. "I was very worried about the [heavy] ground coming here, but he seemed to handle it well." King believes his horses are still not in peak form, after the discovery of a ­muscle enzyme problem in the yard ­earlier this season, but he also had a double at Ascot today. "Hopefully we are getting there and this is obviously very encouraging," he said.