ON the day that one of the greatest chasers of all time, Sprinter Sacre, was retired, the search for a successor - or at least for the next two-mile champion - stepped up a gear with the running of the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham.

It is a race which Sprinter Sacre himself had won 12 months before, when it had first been elevated to Grade 2 status, and the authoritative success of Fox Norton has convinced many that the Colin Tizzard-trained six-year-old represents the biggest danger to Douvan in this division in the months ahead.