Henderson, Henry and Harry all win in thrilling Gold Cup weekend

The Big Bite rolled back the years to win the feature Greatwood Gold Cup Handicap Chase, racing legend Nicky Henderson celebrated a double and new trainer Harry Derham landed his seventh winner from his 29th runner across an action-packed weekend of racing at Newbury Racecourse.

However, the racing was overshadowed by the death of the Jonjo O'Neill-trained Head Law, who suffered a horrific and fatal fall in the fourth race on Saturday, the second of two days of back to back action.

The Big Bite scooped the feature, winning for the first time since November 2020 for trainer Henry Oliver, while Derham's Dargiannini won the day's other big race, recovering from a slow start to take the lead two fences from the finish and, despite making a mistake at the last, crossing the line five lengths clear of Ben Pauling's Whatsupwithyou.

It made the trip worthwhile for owner Andy Mitchell, who missed watching his beloved Derby County's draw with Shrewsbury in favour of supporting the eight-year-old, who also won for the pair at Uttoxeter in January.

"Andy's a massive Derby County fan and he wasn't keen on racing on Saturday because he didn't want to miss the football," Derham said.

"I had to put my foot down a bit there because it was a race I was really keen on and I was so pleased he put his faith in me.

"He's a lovely horse, my first winner at Newbury and we're delighted with the result."

Meanwhile, Henderson and jockey Nico de Boinville teamed up to saddle two winners on Friday, with Under Control winning for the second successive race since her debut in France and Spring Note triumphing for the first time since November.

Henderson said: "We love winning at Newbury."