Nico De Boinville has talked up Might Bite's potential and claims he was not tiring during the thrilling end to the RSA at Cheltenham.
The eight-year-old appeared to have destroyed the rest of the field in the RSA Chase coming up the hill at Prestbury Park before losing concentration after the last fence as Whisper overtook him heading towards the line.
De Boinville was able to get his mind back on the Grade 1 contest and secured a deserved win, albeit victory coming via the narrowest of margins in a photo finish.
Questions have been asked of Might Bite's stamina in the wake of the dramatic conclusion to the RSA but De Boinville believes he still had plenty left in the tank.
The 27-year-old has now backed the Nicky Henderson-trained gelding to go on to bigger and better things, comparing him to Gold Cup winner Coneygree.
“Might Bite has one of the highest cruising speeds in racing, and we were doing a half-speed all the way round in the RSA,” said the jockey in his 32Red blog. “It was incredible.
“Obviously, a lot of people have focused on what happened after the last but he actually tried to pull himself up going past the stands with a lap to go. He gave himself a breather there, a good breather, and I had to ask him to go on again after the water jump.
“He kicked on again in a manner very similar to Coneygree and he absolutely winged the second last. I saw the same stride at the last but he lost concentration – he had one eye on the entrance – and put down on me.
“Looking back, I maybe should have popped the last, as he veered straight towards where he came out onto the track. But once the loose horse came past him near the finish he thought ‘the job is not done here'
“Some have suggested he emptied out on the run-in but to do what he did – to basically go from a standing start to galloping again in such a short space of time – is definitely not the sign of a tired horse. We have a horse of immense potential to look forward to now.”
