Valtat enters Arkle picture Vibrato Valtat put himself in the picture for the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham when beating a small but select field in the Racing Post Henry VIII Novices' Chase at Sandown. Noel Fehily produced the Paul Nicholls-trained with a telling challenge, after being held up last of the four runners in the early stages. Three of the quartet had every chance at the final fence, at which they came close together, and it was the 5-1 chance who stormed up the hill to win by two lengths from Dunraven Storm, who had beaten him at Cheltenham three weeks ago. The winner's stablemate Irish Saint was third, with Court Minstrel a well-beaten fourth. Nicholls said: "They went a good gallop. He's got heaps of ability but wasn't finishing his races last year as was struggling with his breathing, so we gave him a breathing op in the summer. "On form you could say he should have won last time, but the race didn't quite work out right. "This track suits him and I think Irish Saint needs to step up in trip and will get three miles. "Vibrato Valtat is probably a real two-miler. Today the race unfolded for him. "It wouldn't surprise me if he turned out to be an Arkle horse. He's got plenty of boot and the faster they go the better for him. He's definitely in the mix for that. "He was going to go for the Wayward Lad at Kempton and he might still do that. I hadn't really made a plan. We'll just see how he is."
