Pic D’Orhy outclassed his rivals to make a winning start for the Dan Skelton team in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby.
The eleven-year-old was second to Djelo in this race last season for Paul Nicholls and was one of a number of horses owner Johnny de la Hey moved to to the champion trainer in the summer.
Sent off the 11/10 favourite, the only moment of concern he gave his supporters was when getting too close to the first fence down the back straight on the second circuit.
But from there he was never off the bridle, Harry Skelton letting out an inch of rein between the last two fences to send his partner clear.
Pic D’Orhy fiddled the final fence but came home in his own time to beat the rallying Handstands by six-and-a-half lengths with the winner’s stablemate Riskintheground a running on third.
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The winning rider told ITV Racing: “He didn’t have that penalty today and was a pleasure to ride. I gave him a kick at one down the back and he told me to sit still! He knew a little bit more than I did. He’s very French in the way he jumps, it’s the first time I’ve ridden him, and it was a lovely performance.
“Make no mistake we’ve inherited a very nice horse, he’s a three-time Grade One winner and you’d hope turning up without a penalty, he’d do what he has today.”
Dan Skelton added: “He was a bit keen but I think that’s how he runs. I don’t think there’s an extra two miles an hour that you’re not seeing. He hit the first down the back straight very hard, you don’t usually see a horse hit a fence that hard and stand up. But eleven years of experience helped him get away with that.
“On ratings, without a penalty, that’s how the script here could easily have been written. He’ll have to go and carry the Grade One penalty somewhere else now but we should concentrate on the horse. He’s a great old horse. We’ve inherited him, everyone knows that, we’ve just got him fit for day. It was his race to lose – and good old boy, he didn’t.”
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