TELLHERTHENAME BACK TO WINNING WAYS

Ben Pauling declared Tellherthename (Malinas) "as good as I've had" after his impressive return to winning ways in the 2m Novice Hurdle at Huntingdon today.

Pauling said: "Make no mistake, Tellherthename is as good as I've had and it's a massice win for the Megsons, who are our biggest supporters. He's a class horse and this may have looked like a procession but it was anything but.

"He may go for the Betfair Hurdle if the ground is right. If not, he'll go straight for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham, he's that good."

Kielan Woods described Tellherthename as the best horse he's ever ridden when successful on the five-year-old at Huntingdon in November and after another comfortable success, the jockey said: "He's still the best and I don't know what went wrong at Aintree last time. Maybe it was the ground which was pretty desperate."

David Milnes, Racing Post