Cloth Cap ran and jumped his rivals into the ground to win the Ladbrokes Trophy for Jonjo O'Neill and Tom Scudamore.
The bottom weight went to the front as the tapes rose and stayed there, producing a series of wonderful jumps including at the third last.
He was clear at the final fence and his rider could enjoy the run-in, steering the 9/1 chance to a ten lengths victory.
Aye Right (12/1) was always towards the fore and ran a big race in second with the strong-travelling The Conditional (14/1) third.
The Hollow Ginge (50/1) hit the frame for Value Bet followers, running on well from the rear of the field.
O’Neill said: “He has been in tremendous form. His run at Cheltenham when Richie (McLernon) rode him was a cracker. It was great – he jumped brilliantly, it was just brilliant.
“I said to Tom ‘he gets four miles, so the rest is down to you’ – obviously he did his home work. The ride came about through Dave Roberts his agent. We were looking for someone to do 10st and I couldn’t do it, so I thought Tom was the next best thing!
🧢 Cloth Cap (9/1) wins the Ladbrokes Trophy impressively for Jonjo O'Neill and that's a popular success
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) November 28, 2020
👏 Well done Tom Scudamore who got down to 10st for the ride
👀 Placed is Matt 'Ladbrokes Trophy' Brocklebank's 66/1 each-way tip The Hollow Gingepic.twitter.com/XUDSAlLaf9
“I was second on Tamalin one year, behind a horse (Zeta’s Son) ridden by Ian Watkinson and trained by Peter Bailey. Michael Buckley owned it and I can still see the colours. It is a great start to the season and it was brilliant. Most of the team are running well.
“It is great to win it for anybody. For Trevor it is great, as he loves long-distance chasers and we have been trying to get him to run in the National really, so he is probably on a mark where he will probably get in.
“He needs good ground and that is important to him really. If he gets his ground in the National, take the price now. I was a bit worried about the ground as the lads were saying it is a bit slower today as he wants it good. It was good enough and that is the main thing.”
Sky Bet, Paddy Power and Betfair all make the winner a 20/1 chance for the Aintree showpiece.
Harriet Graham was justifiably proud of the runner-up, saying: “We are just so chuffed. All week I’ve been thinking ‘are we above ourselves taking on all these fantastic trainers and fantastic southern horses’.
“I’ve always thought so much of him and Callum (Bewley) and him have got on really well. We’ve stayed loyal to our jockey and the owners stayed loyal to him and he did a fantastic job.
“The horse jumped incredibly and galloped and we were brave enough to take it to them – it was a super job.
“Over cups of coffee at the kitchen table, we’ve often thought of the Scottish National and we had been going to go to that meeting last season for a supporting chase. That is on the radar, but it is a long way away. I think we have a really nice horse.”
