Willie delivers in emphatic victory

But 16-year-old Willie Twiston-Davies achieved that with a nerveless win on the frontrunning Baby Run – the teenager’s very first ride over fences – in the Wilmot-Smith Memorial Cup for hunter chasers.

Winner of the Cheltenham Foxhunters last year for older brother Sam, Twiston-Davies Jr defied his tender years to great effect on the 11-year-old.

It required a photo-finish to determine who was more nervous beforehand; the jockey or his mother, Cathy, who drove the horse box to West Yorkshire from the family’s Cotswolds stables that are also home to reigning Gold Cup champion Imperial Commander.

Once Baby Run had jumped the first fence with aplomb, and in the lead, the horse – owned by the rider’s father Nigel – was never passed. It was a foot perfect round of jumping.

And while the teenage rider has made no secret of his dislike of school on his Twitter commentary, this emphatic 37-length victory was an A-grade piece of homework ahead of a far bigger test – next month’s Foxhunters Chase, one of the most competitive races at the National Hunt Festival.

“There was plenty left in the tank,” observed the winning jockey afterwards before cheekily pointing out that his brother is ineligible for the Foxhunters because he is now a fully fledged professional.

“That was brilliant, he gallops, jumps and it was a pleasure to ride such a class horse. I think dad was going to give him one more run before Cheltenham but after that he might not bother now.”

As to Mrs Twiston-Davies, she simply said the race “was a relief” on a day that she will never forget - she was also responsible for leading up her husband’s Crescent Island who won the handicap chase after an incredible 672-day absence.

While Baby Run is likely to be one of the leading contenders for the Foxhunters’, it would not be the greatest surprise if Wayward Prince upset the odds in the RSA Chase after an impressive win in the Towton Novices Chase.

Maintaining his unbeaten record over larger obstacles, Costello pushed Ian Williams’s charge into the lead before the home turn in a tightly-packed five-runner field. The 5-6 favourite did not do much in front and had to be kept up to his work to hold Malcolm Jefferson’s back-to-form Cape Tribulation by two lengths.

Williams, who won the Towton a year ago with the highly-regarded Weird Al, said: “That was a case of job done. It was hard work, but he much prefers coming off a strong pace.”

Costello added: “He has won at Cheltenham before and he stays all day. He’ll run very well in March.”

Wayward Prince remained unchanged at 16-1 with Paddy Power for the RSA Chase at the Festival.

This was the middle leg of Costello’s hat-trick. He had earlier won the novice hurdle on Moonlight Drive for Malton trainer John Quinn before landing the finale on Distime for the same handler.

Moonlight Drive is 40-1 for the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham. “He’s a lovely horse but he’s only a shell,” said the jockey.

Not many 50-1 winners will have been greeted as warmly as Lady Anne Nevill after she landed a shock win in the opener by four lengths. Trained in Middleham by Chris Fairhurst for local owner Carol Arnold, the seven-year-old’s claims were hard to find on the form book.

Off the track for 453 days, she was being ridden by Northallerton-born Phil Kinsella who was having only his second winner since returning from a broken neck.

“That’s a bit of a surprise,” admitted Fairhurst. “I bred her myself – the owners live in Middleham and it sounds like a few have backed her.”