ALTHOUGH beaten 2/1 on the day, Paul Nicholls actually made ground on Henderson by taking the Silver Plate Handicap Hurdle, worth nearly £21,000 to the winner, with 8/1 chance Brio Conti at Kempton.

A lightly-raced grey by Dom Alco, Brio Conti was impressive here, travelling strongly for Sean Bowen before hitting the front two out and pulling clear to beat Henderson’s Divine Spear by over three lengths.