Shishkin comfortably landed a big-race Grade One double after easing to victory in the Doom Bar Maghull Novices' Chase on 2021 Randox Grand National day at Aintree Racecourse
The unbeaten seven-year-old, sent off at prohibitive odds of 1-8, followed up his Arkle Trophy Chase win at the Cheltenham Festival last month to make it five wins from five starts over fences at Aintree.
Now he will bid to follow in the hoofprints of former Seven Barrows stable stars Sprinter Sacre and Altior and dominate the two-mile chase division next season.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase at next year's Cheltenham Festival, for which he is just 6-4 with Betfred and Betway, will be the long-term aim.
And he looks a worthy successor to his illustrious predecessors.
Gumball lead initially but halfway through Shishkin came to join him at the head of affairs before moving clear.
He jumped economically throughout under Nico De Boinville and just had to shaken up to comfortably hold Funambule Sivola (14-1) by three and a quarter lengths at the line.
Shishkin continues to impress easily maintaining his unblemished record over fences.
De Boinville told ITV Racing: "We were going very steady, and the one thing that Shishkin does is he stays - (so) I wouldn't want to turn it into a sprint really.
"I certainly had to do all the donkey work there.
"The way the race was run at Cheltenham, it was a hard-fought two miles.
"They went a really good gallop, and that's when you saw him at his very best - whereas today, I had to do all the donkey work and go out and find those jumps.
"At the moment he's doing everything we've asked of him at two miles - so why fix something that's not broken?.
"On a stronger gallop, he's always going to be better. I think he was just idling going into the last there - and I think he'd have picked up again, which he did."
Henderson saw his other Cheltenham Festival winner Chantry House double up in Friday's Mildmay Novices' Chase. And he was delighted to see Shishkin do the same.
The Seven Barrows handler said: "It's always difficult after Cheltenham to know how much to do with them.
"Obviously they are fit, but the team have done great because they came here in pretty good nick. Both are very good novices, though - they've had pretty nearly perfect seasons.
"Nico said he could have done with a lead for longer. Gumball usually goes a solid gallop but he didn't today.
"He's a very laid-back horse, and at home you don't see the speed you see on track. He's got a wonderful temperament, and I suspect he was just getting lonely. Fair play to the second, though.
"It's amazing how quick he gets to the other side of a fence - it's a very effective technique, but it is a bit unusual.
"He won't go to Punchestown. Doing the two is difficult, doing the three, you need to be Sprinter or something - who did it one year.
"You'd like to think it will be the normal two-mile route next year, and I'd like to think Altior is at Sandown in two weeks. If they meet next year they have to meet.
"It's amazing we've gone from Sprinter to Altior, and this lad is going the right way the whole time."
