Screaming Colours won the Boulton Group Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter from Young Dev as Irish trainers saddled the one-two.
Screaming Colours (12/1) ran out a ready winner of the Boulton Group Midlands Grand National on just his second start since finishing fourth in last year's renewal.
The 11-year-old had been off since finishing second to Braeside in the Cork Grand National at the end of October and proved that staying chases are his metier with a convincing success under Conor Orr.
Last year's winner Time To Get Up travelled smoothly in midfield for the first two circuits but appeared to slip on the bend going out onto the final lap, just a few strides after Achille appeared to jink towards the paddock and unseated Hugh Nugent. It later transpired that the stirrup leather had snapped, leaving Nugent with no chance of retaining the partnership.
Achille hampered the prominent racing Hewick as the field began to thin out and El Paso Wood hit the front four from home as he bidded to provide trainer David Pipe for a record fifth win in the race.
He was joined by the eventual winner three from home and had been left in his slipstream by the penultimate fence as Screaming Colours galloped on strongly to win by 10 lengths.
Young Dev came from a long way off the pace to finish a never nearer second, ahead of Time To Get Up who rallied bravely having come under pressure a long way out.
El Paso Wood was fourth with Momella fifth.
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Neil Durkan, son of the winning trainer William, told ITV Racing: "We were going to go for the Welsh National when he got injured on us, he had a little setback. When I seen all the rain we were crying at home at Christmas.
"The plan was to come back here.
"He's a very hard horse to train and keep sound but he's the heart of a lion and gallops all day."
When asked for his thoughts on the big race jockey, Durkan replied: "Unbelievable.
"He had his first ride at Cheltenham yesterday and was third on Colonel Mustard and he's a big part of our team, he's tremendous.
"We're a small team. We've only six, seven horses. This is a big win for us."
A jubilant Orr added: "To be fair to him now he jumped fence to fence and done it alright.
"When I turned into the straight I knew I had plenty left and he stays very well, I just had to try and get something to bring me as far as I could because he can have a good look around when he gets to the front.
"The ground helps him, it just slows everything down for him."
The Durkan name is a famous one not only in Ireland, but in racing worldwide.
Durkan’s late son, John, famously bought Istabraq to go jumping for JP McManus, before tragically dying from leukaemia.
Asked what he would have made of the victory, Durkan added: “He’d have a wry smile on his face and probably be disappointed he wasn’t here to ride him himself.
“It’s a bittersweet day because when he crossed the line John’s not here to enjoy it.”