Sam Twiston-Davies rider of Connetable© Photo Healy Racing
Peace And Co again met with defeat as Connetable came out on top in the Betfred Racing "Follow Us On Twitter" Contenders Hurdle at Sandown.
The Nicky Henderson-trained Peace And Co had badly fluffed his lines when losing his unbeaten record in the International Hurdle at Cheltenham in December, when racing far too free.
On this occasion he moved with much more restraint for Daryl Jacob and all looked set fair for the 4-7 favourite entering the straight.
But the distress signals were starting to come out after the second-last, with the eventual winner jumping the final flight just ahead of long-time leader Rayvin Black.
Peace And Co just kept on at one pace up the hill for third, with Paul Nicholls' four-year-old Connetable (15-2) beating Rayvin Black by a head, making the most of a hefty weight allowance.
Nicholls said: "It is quite tough for four-year-olds against older horses.
"He will go straight to the Triumph now from here. A fast-run race will suit him well.
"He ran well at Ascot when he badly needed the race, as he had problems with a splint. He beat Footpad who has just won a Grade One (at Leopardstown), in Auteuil and is a proper horse that will keep going forward.
"If it was genuinely quick at Cheltenham he wouldn't run as he likes to get his toe in, as he is a jump-bred horse but it doesn't tend to be like that. Sam (Twiston-Davies) thinks that nice ground will suit him.
"Nick Scholfield got off at Ascot and said to run him in the Triumph as he will improve a lot with what we are doing with him.
"He is a mirror of Zarkandar. He is laid back and keeps galloping, he will end up in those staying races.
"He is a nice juvenile. He will always be workmanlike as he is not a flashy traveller."
William Hill went 10-1 from 33-1 about Connetable in the Triumph and pushed Peace And Co out to 33-1 for the Champion Hurdle from 14-1.
But Henderson was inclined to excuse the finishing effort of Peace And Co, and Cheltenham remains on his radar.
The Seven Barrows trainer said: "He did a lot of things right. He just got tired, it was that plain and simple. That ground just found him out a bit.
"He behaved well, settled well and jumped well. We are pleased with the performance, but obviously it is disappointing he didn't win.
"He has got to improve a fair bit from that and he will do. You could really say that was his first run since the Triumph Hurdle.
"He didn't have a race at Cheltenham, but he has had a race today. I don't think we are going to change what we are aiming to do, so we will stick to the plan."
He went on: "We will go straight to Cheltenham as there is no time to run him again. What happened at Cheltenham last time was a complete one-off.
"Daryl was very pleased with the way everything went and I would have been surprised if it went as badly wrong as it did at Cheltenham last time."
