Donald McCain's Tara Royal turned the John Smith's Scottish Champion Chase at Musselburgh into a procession.
A promising novice last term, injury curtailed his season, but he looked a different proposition under Jason Maguire on this occasion. Having tracked the pace throughout, he sprinted clear of Woody Waller to win by four and a half lengths.
"It's good to have him back. Once or twice he flattered to do that over hurdles in those sort of races. He fractured his pelvis a week before Cheltenham last year and it's been a long road back," said the trainer.
"He jumped well, because he hasn't had a lot of experience, and he did it very well. We'd always hoped to get him to Cheltenham and on that run the Grand Annual would look the obvious option for him, but I'll have a chat with Tim (Leslie, owner) and we might sit tight and wait for Aintree."
Charlie Longsdon made the long trip from Oxfordshire worthwhile when landing the first two races, and West Brit (8-1) was an impressive winner of the John Smith's Scottish Triumph Hurdle under Paddy Brennan, who made the journey north for one ride.
The trainer said: "That makes the journey worthwhile. It took about eight and a half hours to get here. He was favourite last time, but his wind caught him out in bad ground, so he's had a little operation. We put him in the Triumph and he had to win for us to even consider it. He doesn't have enough time to get another run for the Fred Winter."
Longsdon's Cross Of Honour (4-6 favourite) had earlier landed the John Smith's Novice Hurdle under Felix De Giles with the minimum of fuss.
"We've always thought he was a nice horse and he's got Cheltenham entries, so he had to go and do it like that getting a good bit of weight from Donald's horse (Ebanour)," said the handler.
Kate Walton's Everaard (13-2) prevailed in a tight finish for the John Smith's Stayers' Handicap Hurdle. Devotion To Duty and Moonlight Drive made it a three-way finish after the last, but the course specialist prevailed by a neck and the same under Richie McGrath.
"When I told Richie I'd entered him, he said we'd better get him some arm bands because he'd be out of his depth, but as it turned out the top weight was 133, so he was only 2lb out of the handicap," said Walton.
