Top weight Kalahari King won the Blue Square Handicap Chase at Doncaster at 10-1 in his comeback race for North Yorkshire trainer Ferdy Murphy.

The nine-year-old is now down to 5-1 for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham next month.

Murphy said: "The first time we did a bit of fast work with him after the snow he wouldn't have won a donkey derby, but he's continued to improve.

"He's a class horse and I'd like to think he can improve again."

The horse was well behind on the final turn but jockey Graham Lee guided him to victory by more than three lengths.

"He seems to have won it with a bit in hand and it was an impressive performance," Murphy added.

"He's done a lot of work down on Redcar beach and has been there 14 times in a three-week period, but that is only slow work.

"Coming here (to Doncaster) I would have been happy if he had finished sixth or seventh."

Murphy felt the ground at Doncaster was not ideal, which will increase his hopes of winning the premier race for two-mile chasers at Cheltenham next month.

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