Altior goes for 19th straight win

Altior has recovered from Cheltenham and is ready to be aimed at a record-breaking 19th straight win over jumps at Sandown on Saturday, when a clash with the highest-rated horse in Britain and Ireland is still on after Cyrname was also among the 12 entries for the bet365 Celebration Chase.

Sandown racegoers have been denied the clash between Altior and Cyrname, but any glimpse of arguably the sport's brightest star is one to relish as Nicky Henderson's ace aims to surpass the 18 wins legendary staying hurdler Big Buck's recorded from 2009-2012.

Successful in the last two Celebration Chases, Altior, who will be ridden as usual by Nico de Boinville, was last seen landing his second Champion Chase to take his Cheltenham Festival win tally to four.

He has been unbeaten for four years and dealing with the pressure of that seems Henderson's hardest task in managing the athletic nine-year-old.

Fingers crossed for him... For me a bigger star than Winx and Frankel

No Tellytrack coverage but Altoir wins number 19.

Watched the race bloody marvelous

It was perhaps fitting the mighty Altior eclipsed the 18 victories Big Buck's achieved to set a world record for consecutive successes in the style of the star staying hurdler, pulling out all the stops over a trip connections now deem too short for the sport's biggest name.

Getting down and dirty and scrapping like a streetfighter has become the hallmark of Altior over two miles, although Nicky Henderson delivered an early Christmas present when pointing the handsome son of 2002 Derby hero High Chaparral firmly at the 32Red King George VI Chase at Kempton on December 26.