Richard Johnson right on Thyme Hill in Long Distance Hurdle

It hasn't been a prolific start to the season for the Somerset handler, by his own high standards, but this was a huge success as Thyme Hill announced himself as a staying hurdler to be reckoned with.

It appeared nobody wanted to make the running as they took an age to get going at the start, Richard Patrick eventually taking the bull by the horns aboard Honest Vic.

He led for much of the first circuit until Vision Des Flos took over under Robbie Power, the injection of pace from the seven-year-old thinning the field out with Sam Spinner the first to cry off down the back.

With three to go Vision Des Flos' lead was eaten into with a posse of rivals breathing down his neck, with both Thyme Hill and McFabulous travelling well within themselves.

It looked set to be a showdown between the two, but as Thyme Hill mastered the Paul Nicholls-trained horse it was former Stayers' Hurdle hero Paisley Park who laid down the final challenge.

He couldn't quite reel in the winner, and, while it was good to see Emma Lavelle's horse bounce back to form after his Cheltenham flop, this was to be Thyme Hill's day after a terrific race.

Betfair and the sponsors halved the winner in price to 6/1 for the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle at Cheltenham while Sky Bet were even more impressed and go 5s.

Sky Bet Head of Sports PR Michael Shinners said: "In what was the best staying hurdle race of the season so far. Thyme Hill was impressive in the way he sprinted clear of his rivals after the last. We now go 5/1 from 12/1 for the Stayers' Hurdle, which now makes him the clear favourite."

Hobbs said: “They were making a lot about the race before, but we are obviously delighted with him. He was a bit geed up beforehand and I was a bit concerned about that as he is normally on his toes, but not too much. In the race he settled and jumped well. I was very happy with him.

“I would very much hope he could progress as that is only his fifth hurdle race and he is only six. There is still room for improvement. He would have been pretty fit today, but that run would put him right as well.

“He is not the hardest to get fit, but at the same time he must come on for the run a bit. He schooled over fences when the season finished and he schooled particularly well, but you just have to think he was hopefully going to be good enough to run in this department.

“If he flopped today, it would have been a disaster as it would have been too late to go novice chasing, but thankfully we were OK.

“I was (confident three miles would be his trip) after Cheltenham, as he stayed on very well in the Albert Bartlett. He was unlucky and got squeezed out a bit, so he was unfortunate there.

“The Long Walk is a strong possibility and the Cleeve is a possibility as well. I would have thought it is likely he would only have one run before Cheltenham.

“He is not the sort of horse that holds condition well, but he has got better as he has got older, so hopefully we can have a busier season, but there aren’t that many options for him. There is the Long Walk, Cleeve, Cheltenham and then hopefully he can go to Aintree and Punchestown afterwards.

“He is definitely the best horse I’ve had in this division as I’ve never had a horse that was even likely for the Stayers’ Hurdle.”

Paisley Park was found to be suffering a heart problem following his Festival defeat in March, but jockey Aidan Coleman was thrilled with his performance on his return to action.

He said: “Fair play to the winner, as he is the new kid on the block. But from where we left off from Cheltenham in March, we have come an awful long way, bearing in mind he couldn’t raise a gallop for obvious reasons and we all know why.

“He has gone around today, travelled with loads of enthusiasm and jumped well. It turned into a sprint, but it was the same for all of them, so we are not making any excuses on that front.

“It was fantastic to see him gallop all the way to the line and just take a massive step forward from his last run. Without winning, I couldn’t be happier.”