Patience finally paid off for trainer Paul Nicholls, after Pic D’Orhy gave him his first Grade One winner in a year after making it back-to-back victories in the Betfair Chase at Ascot on Saturday.

The 14-time champion trainer vowed to bounce back from a disappointing run of results and wasted no time delivering on his word with another breathtaking performance from the ten-year-old under Harry Cobden.

Leading from the front, Pic D ‘Orhy was never headed and went on to win eased down at the finish by ten lengths to continue his excellent record at the course having been beaten just once in his past six visits to Ascot.

"I love what we do every day and I love this game," declared Nicholls. "I love the challenge and over the past four or five weeks it's been challenging, but days like this and horses like this make it all worthwhile.

"We've had a few problems with some of the horses not being quite right at home and you have little doubts, but in the paddock I thought Threeunderthrufive in the last race and Pic D'Orhy looked as good as I've seen them look all season and they both ran like it."

Another Ascot specialist Victtorino made it four wins out of five at the Berkshire track after a titanic tussle with last year’s winner Threeunderthrufive in the Class One Betfair Swinley Handicap Chase.

Charlie Deutsch moved up the inside in the run in to challenge the Nicholls-trained ten-year-old with Cobden aboard. Heading up to the post it was neck and neck between the pair with Deutsch getting up to win by a nose.

"I thought he was beaten but that was great," said winning trainer Venetia Williams, yet again on the mark on a Saturday. "The ground is loose but I don't think it's testing and there were still lots of horses there with three to jump.

"I thought we were going to get outsprinted but it was nice to see the first and second were up there the whole way around. We were certainly yelling some."

Ascot specialist Altobelli took his record to two wins, a second and a third from four runs after a three-and-a-quarter length victory under Brian Carver in the Class Two Betfair Exchange Handicap Hurdle.

"It's a shame they don't have a festival here in four weeks," said winning trainer Harry Fry. "He's on an upward curve and hopefully he can keep climbing now. I imagine we'll enter him in the Coral Cup and another step up in trip would be a plus if anything."

Trainer Ben Pauling revealed his desire to send a fair size team to the forthcoming Punchestown Festival after Samuel Spade took the opening race on the card to win comfortably going away by four-and-three-quarter lengths from Blue Hop.

"He's a bit of an enigma”, said Pauling. “When he's good, he's really good but when he's bad he doesn't want to know.”

The Changing Man profited by the early exit of the odds-on favourite Jingko Blue to win cosily in the Reynoldstown Novices Chase by 24 lengths to complete the first leg of a double for Joe Tizzard and jockey Brendan Powell who also took the 2m 3 1/2f novices hurdle with First Confession.

By Peter Moore