One Horse Town (10/3) took his record over hurdles to four from four in the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle (registered as the Prestbury Juvenile Hurdle) at Cheltenham on Saturday.
A winner on the flat for Harry Derham after joining from Joseph O'Brien, One Horse Town has made a smooth transition to hurdling and put his experience to good use with Paul O'Brien jumping off in front and the pair were never headed.
The 9/4 favourite Precious Man, penalised for a win in France, shaped well on debut for Dan Skelton. A shade keen throughout, Precious Man made up his ground readily racing down the hill and was on the heels of the leader approaching the last.
A mistake there, which propelled Harry Skelton, up his neck put paid to his chances and his exertions took their toll on the climb to the line.
In contrast, One Horse Town kept his foot on the pedal, going on to win the Grade 2 by three and three-quarter lengths.
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Derham told Racing TV: "He said there wasn't much pace. Paul is as good as there is from the front in my opinion. The horse was beautifully relaxed. We kept saying all summer 'he's a fun juvenile' but he's probably quite a good juvenile; a good performance.
"Obviously the second horse had to give us 5 lbs but a special win because they're a really good group of owners; Jonathan and David Gregory are enormous supporters of mine, my parents own a bit of him and I'm genuinely worried about my mum's heart!
"We're very fit from racing through the summer which counts for a lot, particularly on soft ground, and maybe Dan's horse over-raced a little bit, but maybe he's a good horse? I don't know but we'll have fun finding out. We'll come back for Trials Day, we won't over-race him; he'll take a while to get over that, he's an honest horse which is weird as he was very quirky on the flat, so I'll give him a beat of time and dream."
O'Brien added: "I didn't necessarily want to make the running but nobody else wanted to and he went and jumped the first couple really well and was enjoying himself so I just let him. He stays well for a juvenile which is key I think and he's tough as boots."
Equally delighted with the result was syndicate leader Jonathan Gregory, with the victory being his first at Cheltenham.
Gregory said: “It is my first Cheltenham feeling. It is the most amazing feeling and I’m a little bit tearful if I’m honest with you. I’ve been fifth, seventh and pulled-up twice. We came with hope rather than optimism.
“He had never run on this ground so nobody knew how he was going to handle it, but Harry said we have to give him a chance and I imagine we will be back here again I suspect.
“I’ve got a few with Harry and I helped him get the yard set up with a bit of investment so it has been good. It has been a great experience to be with him.”
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