Iberico Lord came out on top for Nico de Boinville and Nicky Henderson in the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The five-year-old was a 7-1 chance under 11st and travelled well among a busy field of 15, galloping into contention at the foot of the hill and running gamely to the line to reel in Neil King’s Lookaway.

Lookaway was second at 12-1, with Henderson also responsible for the third-placed horse in Luccia (6-1).

Henderson – still on a high after brilliant win of the also JP McManus-owned Jonbon in the Shloer Chase just 35 minutes earlier – said: “We wanted to get a team assembled for this meeting as JP was coming back for it so we gathered a few of the troops together for the weekend with Impose Toi and these two and it has paid off.

“Under Control, who is going for the Gerry Feilden at Newbury, beat him at Sandown fair and square and there was no fluke about it. I thought he was very good to start with, then he fell on his second start for us, then his wind didn’t work in his next one and then everything went wrong, but we got him there at the end of the day.

“Apparently this is my first time winning this race, but I can’t remember what happened 40 something years ago.

“Going to the last I thought ‘one of you please win’. They both ran super races.

“It took time for him to get his act together last season. He won a very moderate race at Stratford and it didn’t sound like we were heading for the Greatwood Hurdle at that time. The Sandown run was good, but Under Control might be pretty good, too.

“AP (McCoy) said he thought the Ascot race (Betfair Exchange Trophy) would suit Impose Toi, but so it would this horse. One of them will have to go there, but as JP said that is a nice problem to solve. It has been a good weekend altogether and Nico has given them all some lovely rides.”

Neil King, trainer of the runner-up Lookaway, said: “He has done nothing wrong and Jack (Quinlan) has given him a cracking ride from the front. We have won our Grade Two here and he went up 10lb for that, and maybe without that we would have won today, but we will take the Grade Two and finish second today.

“We might now go to Ascot for the Betfair Exchange Trophy at Christmas and that is what I have got on my mind at the moment. I must admit I thought we would take a lot of catching today, but there was just one who turned out to get past us unfortunately.”

Knickerbockerglory has the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle in his sights following his commanding victory at Ascot on Saturday.

Making his seasonal return just 1lb higher than when a brave second in the Imperial Cup in the spring, Knickerbockerglory thrived in his favoured soft ground, coming home with real authority and over four lengths clear of his nearest pursuer Altobelli.

It was the gelding’s first victory since switching back to hurdles from the larger obstacles and Mark Speelman, who purchased the horse in January 2021 and remains an integral part of the Knickerbockerglory team, is hoping there is more to come from their progressive operator.

“It was a great performance in ground that he loved,” he said.

“He ran some very promising races last year. We started over fences but just felt the opportunities for him were better over hurdles and he ran a hell of a race in the Imperial Cup at Sandown where he was second. He led up until the last and was just caught up the run-in.

“He was entitled to win a race of this nature but it was great to see him do it.”

Knickerbockerglory is now set to take his chance at Cheltenham on November 19 providing he recovers sufficiently from his Ascot exertions.

The seven-year-old is a 10-1 chance with sponsors Unibet for the prestigious handicap in which trainer Dan Skelton has a stellar record and connections are dreaming of once again seeing soft appear in the going description for their mud-loving contender.

“They have won it with North Hill Harvey and then again with West Cork a couple of years ago, so they know what it takes to win the race,” added Speelman.

“We’re just seeing how he is and how he comes out of Ascot, but all being well that is the plan.

“It’s very exciting. He will carry a 5lb penalty and went up 7lb, so he will be a couple of pounds well in and hopefully he can back up his Ascot performance with another good one at Cheltenham. We will let him take his chance if he comes out of Ascot as well as we hope he does.

“The softer the ground, the better for him. He’s one of those horses who we will only ever run on ground that is very soft as that is where he thrives – he just seems to get through it a little bit easier than some of the others.”

Kerry Lee’s Nemean Lion has the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle in his sights after a pleasing victory on seasonal debut at Ffos Las.

The six-year-old was a Grade Two-winning novice last season when taking Premier Novices’ Hurdle at Kelso but still looked to have taken strides forward with an assured round of jumping in the Welsh Champion Hurdle.

The latter run under rider Richard Patrick has seen his rating rise to 140, the mark he will carry at Cheltenham on November 19.

“He’s entered in the Greatwood, he’s had a pop this morning and he seems in great form,” said Lee.

“We’re very happy with the way he’s come out (of Ffos Las), he’s gone up 5lb so he goes into the Greatwood off 140 – onwards and upwards hopefully.

“He did everything right, he was much more the professional and it was really reassuring to see that, having been quite so novicey in his novice season.

“We’ve worked hard, Richard has worked hard to hone his jumping technique and he looked to really enjoy himself and relish the hurdles.”

Alongside a Grade Two success last term, Nemean Lion was also third in the Grade One Tolworth, though Lee is mindful that the gelding will need to step forward again if he is to mix it in the same company this year.

“For that to happen he’d need to be rated a little higher, so we’d need a good run in the Greatwood and then we can really look and see how to shape our season,” she said.

“The Greatwood isn’t the be-all and end-all and if the ground doesn’t lend itself then there are options, but for now we’ll focus on that and see what happens.”