Kabral Du Mathan lived up to his billing as short-priced favourite with a silky display in the Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle.
Sent off the 8/15 market leader for the Cheltenham Grade 2 following a seasonable/stable debut win in handicap company at Haydock, Dan Skelton's recruit tracked the pace before mounting his challenge in the home straight.
Well-backed second-favourite Jingko Blue made the best of his way home and still appeared to hold every chance under James Bowen approaching the final flight but Harry Skelton had yet to push the button on the market leader and when he popped the question after the last, the response was immediate.
Kabral Du Mathan quickened brightly before easing home to score by five and a half lengths with the minimum of fuss.
The sponsors reacted by cutting the winner to 6/1 from 10/1 for the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle back at Prestbury Park in March.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
'He's not a slogger'
Harry Skelton said: "He travelled round brilliantly. He made one mistake down the back, I'm not quite sure what he did; he's left his back-end in it or something. It was favourable for him today with the weight allowances but he's won very impressively. He beat a good field getting the weight but he's done it well.
"That was the only mistake he made. They're out there, they make mistakes, he got away with it and will hopefully learn from it; he jumped great, winged the last and away he went - he won well.
"He's not a slogger, he's not just all about three miles. I just said to the guys he's only just turned six years old and just be mindful of that, those three milers need to race behind the bridle and he's got a bit of enthusiasm about himself, he's still a young horse.
"He's got options. Is he going to get three miles? Yes, he is. Is it all about the Stayers' this year? Who knows. I think two and a half is good for him. You've got Aintree Grade 1s over two and a half and three. We'll see, we'll let Dan, Neil and Alfie (owners) have a good chat and try to do the right thing."
'He needed to win today'
Dan Skelton said: “Fair play to the horse as that is what we wanted to see. Okay, the others are in a bunch just behind him, but they’ve not gone that quick and it has turned into a bit of a sprint. He has got a good turn of foot off that pace, but he is a younger horse than the others and he had no penalty to carry and that is why he was at prohibitive odds.
“We couldn’t have been happier with that as that is just what we wanted to see. He is a beauty to train as he's a very simple, straightforward horse to train and I’m delighted with him.
“There was a heap of expectation after Haydock. If he was going to go to the next level he needed to win today, and he has. I didn’t want to go all the way to up three miles at once. I know these horses have been talked a lot in their movement and what else, but put all that to one side. Neil Smith lost his father earlier in the week and this is a big boost to him.
“The Smiths, and others, are big supporters of racing on the whole, and we have to look after these owners. I’m just a benefactor of horses moving, but I just want to point out that Neil lost his father in the week so it has been a hard time for him and a nice winner won’t go amiss.
"As sportspeople though you have got to get on and run. The horses don’t know what we are putting up with as people and we don’t know what they are putting up with as horses.
“All roads now lead to the Stayers’ Hurdle and I would go straight there. You might think about waiting and going two and a half miles at Aintree and waiting for a season to go three miles, but I’m a greedy bugger so we will go three miles!"
'I’m sure he was looking down'
Joint-owner Alfie Smith, whose grandfather Ken Smith ,83, passed away on Monday after a battle with cancer, said: "This does mean a lot for my dad, and my family.
"To win at a place like Cheltenham while having that bad news just means the world. Horse racing is one of those sports that just brings a lot of people together. It was horrible, as he was suffering for a long time, but it is good that he is not suffering anymore.
"He was a massive racing fan as he was always in the bookies and he was always betting. I’m sure he was looking down from heaven with a big smile on his face. This lad has put his name in the Stayers’ Hurdle mix and hopefully we will come back in March with a decent horse on our hands.”
Henderson going pot-hunting
Nicky Henderson, trainer of runner-up Jingko Blue and third Lucky Place, said: “It was going to be hard giving that one six pounds with Lucky Place, but they have both run nice races.
"They have both been chasers and they are coming back over hurdles for various reasons. I thought Lucky Place ran a nice race and finished off well, but the winner was the obvious horse in the race.
“They are in the horrible category of not being Grade One horses and nearly Grade Two horses, and you can’t win handicaps with them.
"I think we will keep pitching up in these better races and try to pick up some prizemoney.”
More from Sporting Life
- Free bets
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.