Thursday 18 February 2016 09:23, UK
Jonjo O'Neill was not surprised dual Grade One scorer Taquin Du Seuil managed to win on his first start in 11 months at Warwick on Saturday.
Despite not being seen since finishing down the field in last year's Ryanair Chase after sustaining a leg injury, the nine-year-old made a winning return to action when defying top weight in a two-and-a-half-mile handicap
O'Neill said: "When he had his screw in his leg early on we kind of wrote him off for the season.
"It didn't really take me by surprise as he has won first time out before, but it has taken me by surprise that he is back in training and running, to be honest.
"When the vet saw his leg he thought it was a fantastic job and 102 days after the operation he was out running and winning which was brilliant.
"The lovely thing about it - I know he loves the soft ground - was that he jumped brilliantly as it was a back leg injury he had."
With Taquin Du Seuil passing his first test, it is now all systems go for a shot at the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate at next month's Cheltenham Festival.
He said: "He has come back and he is fine, touch-wood, so he will go for the two-and-half-mile handicap at the Festival.
"I didn't even put him in the Ryanair because I didn't know if he would be running or not."
