SAPHIR Du Rheu, who failed to concentrate when twice coming to grief over fences earlier in the season, showed that hasing is still very much his game when drawing right away to land the Grade 1 Betfred Mildmay Novices’ Chase in the hands of Sam Twiston-Davies.

Paul Nicholls switched codes after those early mishaps and Saphir Du Rheu was good enough to finish second in the World Hurdle at Cheltenham but he looked different class here, justifying a seemingly cramped price of 13/8 favourite as punters kept faith with the horse and his all-conquering trainer.