Ascot racegoers were treated to more thrills from the two-mile chase division as Nordance Prince and Flagship Uberalles produced a spine-tingling finish to the Victor Chandler Chase today.
Eventually, the Venetia Williams-trained Nordance Prince justified 13-8 favouritism, taking advantage of the 24lb he received from the Tingle Creek Chase winner.
But Flagship Uberalles made his rival fight all the way for his neck success and a smoother jump at the final fence could have brought the pair even closer.
Bookmaker opinion is that Nordance Prince will come off second best when the pair meet at level weights in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham _ he is quoted at 6-1 by Ladbrokes who make Flagship Uberalles 7-4 favourite.
But Miss Williams was happy to relish today's result.
"That was terrific, I thought we were well beaten," she said, after watching her charge fight back on the run-in under Tony McCoy after being headed before the final fence.
"We won today and things may well be different in March but today was today. If we had been beaten we would have been very unlucky as we were nearly pushed into the Windsor Road on the way round."
Miss Williams will now return home to her Hereford base to consider the next outing for Nordance Prince who will have one more run before the Festival.
Nicholls has already planned Flagship Uberalles' next outing.
"He will go for either the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury or the Emblem Chase at Kempton but I wouldn't run him if the ground was testing," said the Shepton Mallet trainer. "That was soft enough today.
"I always thought we'd struggle to beat Nordance Prince at the weights today. I thought if he got beat it would be in a handicap and it would be today.
"He's still improving and if he'd winged the last things might have been different today but the track at Cheltenham will suit him better.
"Today's winner would struggle to beat mine in the Champion Chase _ but they all would.
"I'm very, very pleased, he's run a cracking race and I'm delighted."
Success in the Victor Chandler was the middle leg of a 12-1 treble for McCoy, completed by two more winners for Martin Pipe.
He was on board 10-11 favourite Cotteir Chief, who took the opening Geoffrey Hamlyn Memorial Novices' Hurdle by seven lengths.
"It was quite tacky ground out there and he jumped well and kept going," Pipe said of the winner.
"He'll be entered for the SunAlliance and a few other Festival races as well."
Trips to Cheltenham and Aintree are on the cards for Rainbow Frontier who was a six-length winner over Quakers Field in the Victor Chandler All Sports Handicap Hurdle for Pipe.
"When he turned for home the writing was on the wall and he'll be well entered at the Festival and Aintree," said Pipe of the 13-8 favourite.
The Mildmay Of Flete Chase will be the target for Native Charm who completed a hat-trick with a seven-length victory over Monnaie Forte in the Victor Chandler British Masters Golf Handicap Chase.
"She's on target for Cheltenham now," said absent trainer Charlie Morlock's wife Penny.
"We always thought she'd get this trip and now we know she can do it in reasonable company."
