Best Mate is none the worse for his shock defeat at Huntingdon on Saturday and remains on course for the King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen¿s Day.
Henrietta Knight's dual Gold Cup hero was sent off a 8-13 chance to get his season off to a winning start in the Tote Peterborough Chase. But the writing was on the wall for him some way from home on the rain-softened ground and he had to settle for second behind impressive French raider Jair Du Cochet.
"The horse is absolutely fine this morning, he's a 100 per cent," Miss Knight said. "Basically he just does not go on that ground. We've now found a chink in his armour - he doesn't go on the really soft.
"He has such a lovely, fluid action. He will battle on it but he can't accelerate on it and he can't jump properly off that ground because he doesn't get his usual spring.
"A lot of the horses by his sire Un Desperado are good ground horses. Also, the distance was a bit short for him as well, which didn't help. But take nothing away from the winner who I think is a very good horse. He was probably race fit and we might have been a bit rusty.
"The King George is still the next goal. It was quite soft when he won it last year but it wasn't like yesterday. The trouble is that it was rain on watered ground and you get a puddingy effect and that's the worst.
"We're still looking forward to the King George - everybody has got to take defeat as success, otherwise we wouldn't be in the game. It keeps everybody on their toes and it's good for the sport."