WHEN other British trainers seemed fit to wave the white flag after a Cheltenham like no other for the home team, Paul Nicholls stood up and fought back.

He sent Clan Des Obeaux deep into Irish territory to scoop the Punchestown Gold Cup and then Frodon went up to Down Royal to see off allcomers in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase.

And it is those two horses, back on home turf, who offer the main resistance against a strong-looking Irish raid in the King George VI Chase (3.05) on St Stephen’s Day.

But Nicholls is confident, it’s no wonder why. Despite the presence of the reigning Gold Cup champion, he says that those two are the ones to beat. And how could you doubt the Ditcheat handler after his record with the pair and in this race itself? Frodon and Clan Des Obeaux have accounted for the previous three renewals giving Nicholls 12 winners in all in the race he labelled a “mid-season Gold Cup.”

Clan Des Obeaux finished third in his bid for a hat-trick win last year but he did so coming off a gruelling encounter with Bristol De Mai on a heavy surface at Haydock. This year, Nicholls has kept him back, kept him fresh and essentially kept him all for Kempton. Bookmakers make him the marginal favourite over Minella Indo, who needs to reverse Down Royal form with Frodon.

That amazing servant cannot be discounted in his bid for a second win in a row and he certainly won’t go off the price he did last year after he saw off Galvin, second favourite for the Savills Chase at Leopardstown on Tuesday, at Down Royal.

What for Minella Indo? In truth, the Kempton test doesn’t largely appeal as one that would suit Henry de Bromhead’s chaser but you understand why they are coming here, given he went zero-from-two in the two Leopardstown three-mile Grade 1s and his stablemate A Plus Tard needs to go left-handed.

Kempton rewards tactical speed and it will be a fair test of a horse who only really came good when he raced on the undulations of Cheltenham for an extended three miles and two furlongs last season.

He bids to become the first Irish winner since Florida Pearl in 2001. Indeed there hasn’t even been an Irish runner since that great horse’s trainer Willie Mullins sent over Vautour for a pulsating clash with Cue Card in 2016. Mullins is now back for more with the mercurial Asterion Forlonge, who cruised up towards Allaho before falling at the third last fence of a somewhat strangely run John Durkan Chase.

If, and it’s a big if, he can put his best foot forward, he will be a threat to the main contenders, while the same can be said for Lostintranslation, twice pulled up in this race. He looked gone at the game last season but put up a heartening performance to win the Chanelle Pharma 1965 Chase at Ascot on his comeback. Perhaps he could make it third time lucky.

WILLIE Mullins is hoping his patience with Ferny Hollow will pay off when the Cheveley Park-owned novice chaser takes on the Grade 1 Racing Post Novice Chase (2.25) at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day.

The six-year-old missed the majority of last season with a back problem, only for his formbook to receive boosts time and time again through the exploits of Bob Olinger and Appreciate It.

Speaking to Racing TV about all of his Christmas runners, Mullins said: “It’s one of the great things about jump racing, you can miss a year and still get your star player back. When you have the talent, you have to mind it and you can get plenty more years out of a horse.

“We were lucky Ferny Hollow didn’t get a tendon, it was a back injury so I was happy to be patient with him.”

Ferny Hollow returned with a win in his beginners chase at Punchestown, where he worked hard to get the better of a sustained challenge from Coeur Sublime, an experience that Mullins said will bring him on significantly.

“Patrick had to go on with him and he was a bit novicey at his first four fences. Then they had taken out the middle four fences due to the sun but over the last four, Patrick said once horses came up alongside him, he became very professional.

“Then Rachael (on Coeur Sublime) bumped Patrick across the track over the second last which was very funny looking back! But Patrick said it actually woke the horse up. All that experience – that’s what you need, a bit of hustle and bustle in races. He only had three runs before that. He hasn’t got great racing experience so Patrick was delighted he did get a bit of hustle and bustle.

“That’s all experience and that’s what you need. When you’re coming down to the third last in Cheltenham or Leopardstown, there is going to be a lot of scrimmaging there and you’ve got to have a horse who is able to hold himself.”

Mullins, who admitted to feeling a little bit of pressure with so many of his big-name horses yet to reappear on the track this season due to the unusually quick ground, will reintroduce last year’s Champion Bumper winner Sir Gerhard in the second race maiden hurdle (12.35) on Sunday.

The champion trainer also has a fascinating newcomer in the bumper (3.30), Facile Vega, a daughter of Walk In The Park and Quevega.