Delight for father and son after Chestnut Ben victory

The powerhouse stables of Nicky Henderson and David Pipe saddled fancied runners, but it was the 18-1 chance who stayed on strongest of all for the Winks team based at Little Houghton between Barnsley and Doncaster.

The victorious jockey performed a Frankie Dettori-style flying dismount and even grabbed the microphone to give the crowd a rendition of ‘We Are The Champions’ by Queen.

“This is a big day,” he said. “It’s Scotland’s Champion Chase on Cheltenham Trials Day and we’ve won, I can’t believe it.”

His father added: “He’s in the form of his life, I knew he was. This win means the world to a stable like ours, it’s our biggest win by a long way.”

Danny Cook nearly pulled up Five In A Row before a barnstorming late run to land the Scottish Future Champions Novices’ Chase. Brian Ellison’s eight-year-old was 1,000-1 in running and the victory was Thirsk-based Cook’s 32nd of the season, a new personal best.

Meanwhile, Malton-born Andrew Tinkler won a thrilling Albert Bartlett Scottish Trial on O O Seven for Nicky Henderson.

Saltburn jockey James Reveley won Pau’s big cross country race of the year in France on Saying Again. The Yorkshire jockey gave up his Christmas so he could ride the horse at the French track in a prep race on December 25.