Nicky Henderson feels the old Sprinter Sacre is "nearly there" after the former two-mile king delighted the Seven Barrows handler in his work at the weekend.

The nine-year-old was beaten for the first time in 11 completed starts over fences on his comeback from a lengthy absence at Ascot last month.

A small trace of blood was found in his nostrils after the race, but Henderson has seen no sign of it since and just needs to decide whether to give the returning champion a racecourse gallop or not before the Festival.

"He's very good. Last week was good, he had a school and that is always exciting, for him anyway. He worked really nicely on Saturday so on we go," Henderson told At The Races.

"We've just got to decide whether we have a racecourse gallop or not. I'm not really sure he needs one, so I think we'll just creep along quietly.

"There's no sign of any blood at home, I think and hope it's a one-off. His work was great on Saturday so on we go.

"He could go to a racecourse - some are going to go to Kempton next week and some Newbury the following weekend. He wouldn't go to Newbury as that is quite close to the Tuesday of the Festival so he could go to Kempton, but I'm not sure he really needs to.

"(The old Sprinter Sacre) was jolly nearly there last Saturday."