Brewin'upastorm got up in the dying strides to beat Good Boy Bobby and make a successful start over fences at Carlisle on Thursday.
Olly Murphy's six-year-old Brewin'upastorm (9/4) wasn't too far off the best novice hurdlers last season, finishing fourth in the Ballymore at Cheltenham and second to Reserve Tank in the Mersey Novices' Hurdle at Aintree on his final two starts in the spring.
Following wind surgery in the summer, he was easy enough to back on his first outing of the new campaign in the Dianne Sayer Racing Beginners' Chase, and the market seemed to have got it right as the well-backed, front-running Good Boy Bobby (2/1 favourite) made the best of his way home under Sam Twiston-Davies.
He got a little close to the fourth last but appeared to have done enough to secure a winning chasing debut when seeing off Global Citizen and Midnight Shadow at the foot of the Carlisle hill, but Richard Johnson and Brewin'upastorm had other ideas.
Brewin'upastorm made up ground quickly from the back of the pack and challenged the long-time leader approaching the final fence. They both took it cleanly and set about to fight out the finish up the long run-in and while Good Boy Bobby had the inside rail to assist, it was Brewin'upastorm who found most close home to score by a head.
There was 16 lengths back to the Sue Smith-trained Midnight Shadow (9/1), with a further four and a half back to Ben Pauling's Global Citizen (9/4), who was a fraction keen in the early stages. The 28/1 outsoder The Some Dance Kid never really got into it and was 19 lengths adrift of the fourth in what proved to be a dramatic five-runner contest at the Cumbria venue.
Murphy said: "I'm delighted. I told everyone beforehand he would improve plenty for the run and he will - I wasn't being sheepish about it.
"He jumped careful, but I'd rather he was like that the other way and he'll come on for the run fitness-wise and jumping-wise, I think he'll be a bit sharper and slicker going forward.
"It really wasn't about today. We hunted him away out the back and I said to myself, 'if he finishes in the first three I'll be delighted'.
"I think to come from where he has and pick up those good horses, it was a really good performance."
The Warren Chase handler will let the dust settle before considering future targets, but confirmed the November meeting at Cheltenham as a possible next port of call.
"I've only been training a couple of years and I'm not familiar with the novice programme, but that (Cheltenham) could be an option," Murphy added.
"I'm sort of up in the air whether he wants two miles or two and a half. Looking at him there you'd say he wants two and a half, but he wasn't getting home last year, although he has had his wind done during the summer, so maybe that has helped.
"I think if we get a bit of soft ground I'll probably stick to two miles for the time being and see how we go.
"He's a real flag-bearer for the yard and was unlucky not to win his Grade One last year. I'm delighted he's made the perfect start to the season and hopefully there's a lot to look forward to."
"A horse we'll be hearing an awful lot more about in some of the best novice chases of the season" - @DanBarberTF on Brewin'upastorm pic.twitter.com/yIK1HE0twd
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) October 24, 2019
Murphy and Johnson were completing a quickfire double, with Overthetop maintaining his unbeaten record with a dominant display in the opening Maurice Barnes Racing Novices' Hurdle.
Bought for £150,000 in December after winning his only start in the Irish point-to-point field, the five-year-old made a successful debut for his new connections in a Warwick bumper in the spring.
The Flemensfirth gelding was the 4/7 favourite for his hurdling debut and seasonal reappearance and eased to a 12-length success over Champagne Noir.
"He doesn't show me a whole pile at home, but he's a nice horse and hopefully one to look forward to," said Murphy.
"We might try and find another small race for him, but he's a horse with plenty of ability. He's a proper chaser in the making, but he should pay his way over hurdles first."
